IdealMate: Dating for Nontraditional Communities
January 2022 - April 2022
Problem Statement: How can dating apps such as Hinge be adapted to increase inclusion of marginalized communities, nontraditional families, and social identities?
Note: IdealMate was inspired by the Hinge dating app, with the goal using these findings to understand how the Hinge app could be adapted to improve the dating experiences of voluntarily childfree (VCF), involuntarily childfree, consensually non-monogamous (CNM), and asexual dating app users. Thus, the goal of this project was not to create an alternative app. At the time I had been working on this project, few dating apps allowed users to (freely) specify their preferred relationship term and relationship style. Few also offered users with the option to specify reproductive intentions and family plans.
Aim 1: To challenge normative assumptions surrounding relationships, and one that is more inclusive of nontraditional families, relationship styles, and social identities such as VCF, non-voluntarily childless, and CNM individuals.
User Flow
Methodological Process
Competitor Analysis
I began this project by conducting a competitor analysis of the most widely used dating apps and apps analogous to dating apps to understand the pros and cons of each, and what can be learned in the design of IdealMate.
I was glad to see that dating apps have improved significantly over time, and I recognize this even in my own experience as a dating app user since 2015. Based on my analysis, I think Hinge is the most inclusive among the most widely used dating apps because of built-in features that cater to a diverse user base. However, at the time of this project, Hinge still fell short in some ways. For example, one commonality among the dating apps I analyzed is that many assumed mononormative values. Additionally, many assumed that users don’t have particular preferences against having children and or being unable to have children.
While it may have been tempting to create a new app for users who identify with any of the marginalized groups named above, one question still remained: How would the creation of a new app (in this case, IdealMate), result in the reproduction of existent social inequalities in online and offline dating markets?
In other words, without creating space for marginalized communities on the Hinge app and on other existent dating apps, marginalized communities will continue to seek out community outside of dominant social circles, and this could result in user abandonment. Thus, I continued on with this project with the goal of one day being able to share my findings with the UX research and development teams at Hinge.
User Characteristics
User Interviews
In order to find out more about how users interact with dating apps, I interviewed two users and asked the following questions:
Can you please describe to me the top 5 functions you look for in a dating app?
. What is your favorite dating app, and why?
What does your favorite dating app have that others do not have?
What do you wish your favorite dating app offered that it currently does not?
Can you share with me about things you look for in an ideal partner(s)?
Do you feel that any of the apps we’ve discussed this far support what you’re looking for in a partner(s)?
Do you think the apps we’ve discussed do a good job at accounting for experiences of diverse groups of people in their designs?
Has your experience as a voluntarily childfree man/woman impacted your dating experience on these apps at all? Howso?
Is there any way that you think any of the apps discussed this far can help support you and perhaps other users who identify as voluntarily childfree?
Can you share with me about your dating experience so far, as it relates to your experience as a dating app user?
Are there any functions or preference settings you might add to any of the dating apps discussed this far that might help you find more compatible partners?
Are there any safety measures that you look for when selecting dating apps to use?
Significant Findings
What you wish Hinge offered
Both participants said Hinge was their favorite dating app. However, both users shared similar dissatisfactions with the app. The first complaint both participants had about Hinge was having to pay for what they considered essential and “advanced” filters such as being able to filter based on individual family plans. For example, users would prefer if Hinge offered the ability to set a filter for ‘do not want kids’ so that they have the option to only match with users who share this preference. Hinge offers this feature, but they charge and require users to upgrade their account. This is not optimal. Additional filters users wished Hinge offered for free included filters for height and whether users smoke or drink. Aside from these complaints about Hinge, both participants were generally satisfied.
How being voluntarily childfree has impacted users’ dating app experiences
Participant A confirmed that his choice to not have children has had an impact on his dating app experience. He has had a number of conversations with people he has matched with who have unmatched him because he stated that he does not want kids on the app. He added that stating and displaying on his profile that he does not want children might actually be limiting his ability to match with people because it “turns them away.” Now he states that he is ‘open to children’ on the app because it is less of a turn off than stating that he does not want kids. He also said that he considers it “deceptive” to keep preferences about children off of his profile (leaving this field blank), but he does not consider it deceptive to state that he is “open to children” because his only intention is to avoid discouraging potential partners from matching with him.
Participant B on the other hand, said that his choice to not have children has not negatively impacted his dating app experience. He said his choice to not have children has mostly come up in person after matching and going on dates with people. He thinks it will come up more on dating apps and in person as he gets older. However, his choice to not have children has rarely ever been an issue on the dating app. Participant B openly states and displays on his profile that he ‘doesn’t want kids.’ He added that if people do not match with him, it might be because he displays that he does not want kids on his profile.
Ways dating apps can help support the voluntarily childfree community
Both Participants A and B said that Hinge should enable users to filter and state preferences for free, and especially filter matches based on their preference to not have children. If filtering based on not wanting children were free to users on Hinge, Participant A said he would change his status from ‘open to children’ to ‘don’t want kids’ because he would have better chances of matching with voluntarily childfree people. Participant B said that if the voluntarily childfree pool were too small, then he might remove the filter to match only with people who don’t want kids, but having the option to do so would be ideal.
Participant B similarly said that he would like to have the option to filter based on not wanting children for free and that he might decide to rotate between turning the filter on and off, depending on how many matches he was getting and depending on his location.
Lessons Learned
Based on the findings from my user interviews, dating apps should add filters and partner preference specifications in order to meet the user expectations of voluntarily childfree (VCF) people. Mainly, VCF users want to be able to specify individual partner preferences in order to increase their chances of matching with users who also do not want children.
Dating apps such as Hinge (at the time of this project) only included an option to specify whether users want to display (or not display) their ‘Family Plans’ by specifying ‘Don’t Want Children’, ‘Want Children’, ‘Open to Children’, or ‘Prefer Not to Say’. Hinge users (at the time of this project) also needed to upgrade and pay to filter their matches based on this preference in order to match exclusively with people who also do not want children.
Design Inspiration to Move Forward
Taking what I’ve learned from my user interview analysis this far, a core feature I designed for was ‘Ideal Mate Specification’ which involved adding freely accessible partner preference specifications and features on the app. This design also allows users to filter their matches based on these preferences.
User Persona and Scenario
Given time limitations, I was only able to produce one persona and scenario for this project. The ‘core needs’ I have listed in my persona reflect findings gathered from my user interviews , but it should be noted that the VCF community varies across social demographics, and neither the interviews or persona in this project are representative of the VCF community. Much work is still needed to understand this population of interest, and how dating apps can be more inclusive of this community. At the very least, I expect these core features and pain points to resonate with some proportion of childfree individuals who use dating apps.
Aim 2: To employ an experimental design in which experienced and non-experienced dating app users test the usability, accessibility, and reach of IdealMate.
I also created 2 storyboards outlining visual scenarios for how users might interact with my design.
IdealMate Low-Fi Prototype
• Users should be able to freely specify preferences surrounding children and family plans.
• Users should be able to specify whether children and family plans preferences are Dealbreaker’s which ensures users will only be presented with the profiles of users who match their preferences.
Approaches Used
• User Interview Analysis
• Persona and Persona Reflection
• Storyboards
• Userflows
• Hi and lo-fidelity prototype testing
• Wireframing
• Usability testing
Storyboard #2
Feature 1: Mate Preference Specification
Feature 2: Family and Relationship Style Preference Specification
Storyboard #1
User Interactions
Final Design and Core Features
Mate Preference, Family Plans, Family Size, and Relationship Style Preference Specification
• Users should be able to freely specify the term and style of relationship they are seeking.
• Users should be able to specify whether relationship preferences are Dealbreaker’s which ensures users will only be presented with the profiles of users who are looking for the same relationship term and style.
Social Impact
• Improved Relationship Outcomes, based on improved compatibility between matches
• Having more preference options available to users will encourage users to think more critically about their relationship and family goals
• Less stigmatization against marginalized communities and more inclusion on dating apps
• Less social stratification on a macro-level scale, and more thoughtful decision-making surrounding fertility and relationships
Future Directions
Dating apps can be harmful when they reproduce social inequalities, biases, and discriminate on the basis of individual characteristics, not limited to age, sex/gender, and ethnoracial identity. This project provides opportunities to improve the design and development of dating apps.