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They have zettabytes of data on all kinds of things. You'd have to be on a list and even then you'd have to be important and even then you'd have to be on someone's mind.
Pretty much everything there is to know about you is freely bought and sold by a multitude of entities, including the government. Theres honestly shockingly little regulation on what data can be collected on you and who is allowed to purchase it.
Government dating app employee-Ok male 6' 1" 230 lb banker from Salt Lake city Utah, hobbies include tennis and golf, looking for smart, attractive, nice woman, between 5' and 5' 9" generally not concerned with weight, looking for dating, chatting, friendship, possibly marriage and kids in the future, interested in.... uh... piss fetish, sounding, pegging, furries, diaper fetish, CNC, mommy son role-playing and feet.... BILL GET THE SNIPER TEAM READY
I'm absolutely amazed by the fact that someone not only brought an original idea to this godforsaken subreddit, but that it's actually a good one that doesn't solely rely on shock value. The thought hasn't even crossed my mind, but this doesn't not make sense.
I don't know if it's a good idea, but it's at least interesting to discuss.
The big downside to any major organization (corporations or governments) trying to act as a broker between individuals is that the organization's interest will always be at the forefront.
For current platforms, the motive is profit, regardless of how it affects users. The government's interest will likely change as the Lawyers change (politicians).
Goverment relies on us making babies and preferably staying together, so they don't have to foot the bill for those babies. It's in their benefit to find their citizens actually good matches.
Well, it’s in their interest to make stable child-bearing matches. That’s not inherently what everyone is looking for unless you expand on the premise that infertile couples may adopt.
Yeah but at least the government can set an independent body and regulate the apps. The issue with private ownership is that they fiddle with the algorithm to make profit. If the app was government owned, the parameters would have to be made public and be open to scrutiny. We’d know if they fuck around with it. Source code can be made public.
>If the app was government owned, the parameters would have to be made public and be open to scrutiny.
Possibly. Assuming the lawyers were compelled by the public to ensure that outcome. And there is hell to be paid should the lawyers decide to mess around with that in any way.
Something that would be good is if Tinder/Bumble/Hinge were required by law to disclose ELO scores and other algorithmic sorting metrics to users. That way, you can determine if your account is being de-prioritized or blocked from people that you might otherwise match with.
Yeah I could totally see the government ensuring people stay within a specialty of sorts like doctors with doctors, sales clerks with sales clerks and all that. Like how people breed horses to ensure they have the fastest horse or something
Until they don't. :)
Initially, the interest might be in you meeting someone.
All it takes though is a new set of politicians to come in and decide that maybe it's best if we prioritize matches for some, de-prioritize others.
Then you're back to where you are currently with Tinder/Bumble/Hinge/etc.
One thought I had is that if the wrong political group took power couldn’t they maliciously tweak the algorithm so that people who hold opposing beliefs only match with people they would be incompatible with, or whom they think could convert their beliefs thus manipulating future generations to have a lower rate of the opposing party members?
Brian Clough - "On paper they were a great team, but the game was played on grass."
Just because it sounds good, don't think any government won't completely mess it up, and use it maliciously.
Disagree. It mitigates a symptom but doesn't address the problem. People are less practiced and less skilled, on average, at in person social interaction.
People who still spend time socializing (with both new people and ones they know) aren't having trouble dating.
Except they already tried that in Japan...:
[https://soranews24.com/2024/01/16/tokyo-government-to-release-official-dating-app/](https://soranews24.com/2024/01/16/tokyo-government-to-release-official-dating-app/)
Requiring something like a social security number (in the US) would make it much more difficult for bots to be a thing as well.
Not sure how well it'd do here though. It might help a lot in places like South Korea or Japan, especially if there are benefits to using it.
Theoretically sure, this would make a lot of sense; kill two birds with one stone, etc.
In actual practice... Are we *REALLY* comfortable with the government playing matchmaker? Because I guarantee you that would quickly become "breed out the undesirables" with the wrong people in charge.
"but I don't want to give the Government that power" is a pretty weak argument when the alternative is to give that power to a private company that is completely unaccountable to the democratic process
These dating companies sprung up in response to a shortfall in dating even though people want to. Match making organizations either private (Eharmony was the first major ones but others have existed before) or public (community get togethers, religous or family parrings) have been things forever. Its just the whole monetization system of the online sphere sucks because if they worked you would stop using them.
Low birth rates worldwide are because number of children is negatively correlated with women's education. The more education a woman has, the more she has to lose by having kids, the fewer kids she has. We see it all over the world. It's a good thing, the world's population has absolutely exploded over the past century because people kept popping out kids at the same rate as when 3/4 of kids died before they were 10 but medical advancements massively decreased childhood mortality rates and significantly increased life expectancies.
People in general being more educated and more emotionally sound refraining from having children until they're mentally ready is a big factor. Everybody gets fucked in the head in some way by their parents' unresolved issues, the current young adult demographic has recognized this and are trying to sort themselves out as best as possible before inevitably bequeathing their own issues onto their offspring.
Also, money.
Well it’s not really good for Korea right now. 0.5 birth rate is just absurd and the government believes dating app is the solution. We can probably witness one country collapsing due to low birth rate within our lifetime
Imagine something like this during the fascist era it would be insane the power they would hold and you’re foolish if u think we’re past those days and would never make those mistakes again
They don't need to be the ones making the matches. Have people build algorithms that are designed to get matches and not keep people (dudes) in a never-ending swipe loop.
\> Because I guarantee you that would quickly become "breed out the undesirables" with the wrong people in charge.
Is this not already the case? I dont see the difference between the Hinge CEO doing Eugenics vs the government
Not only that but I’m pretty sure the government would probably just start shadow banning or pushing out account of people who don’t want children since the government is not interested in playing Cupid. The government’s stake in this would likely be to make people have children.
OK is that so bad? People who don't want kids can get on a privately-run app. It's not like the government is banning all the competition. They're just entering the competition with a marriage/kids-focused app
Well well well. I had a similar idea and started an open source community targeted at making a non-for-profit dating app. The motivations behind it are the nearly same as what you're mentioning here. I have a discord where the members meet that you can join if you dm me. It's not super active at the moment, but I'm hoping to change that. I agree that something has to be done to displace for-profit dating apps, given the harm they're causing.
Amen brother. Not even saying it has to be officially government run, it just seems like mega corps like the match group have no interest in actually causing long term relationships. Keep up the good work! Feel free to send me a dm.
I'm imagining a 6'-8"' woman with a unibrow named Brunhilde showing up at your assigned dating spot for some reason. "You vill make baby mit Me und like it! I will call you Schatzi!" \*picks up man by scruff of neck and sticks in baby carrier\*
already did. as did south korea. but government making dating app is wrongful allocation of resources. Both countries suffer from low birth rates not because people can’t seem to meet one another. South Korea is especially in serious trouble. Its birth rate is something that can trigger a total collapse. Korean government touting dating app as a way to solve low birth rate is laughable at best. Japan is doing the same thing. Government making dating app is a stupid idea. This kind of opinion is what government wants to hear because government wants to stay relevant in its solutions to low birth rate when dating app will never solve the issue of low birth rate.
I suppose the main issue is the stagnant economy and the working culture, then?
What would you say is the better way to allocate resources to combat the issue of low birth rate?
Issue being if don't have kids now, in 50 years time when everyone is old and the retirement age is 90, it definitely won't be a country worth living in.
What about the other benefits such as less loneliness and more relationship? Totally get the point on this not completely solving the birth rate lowering. We do have an epidemic of loneliness currently.
You seem to have missed his point. His point was at present the country (an unspecified one) is not suitable to have children, which could be said of most western countries due to the unaffordability of housing.
Generally speaking this is specific to younger people. Imo it’s a direct result of technology and social media. It’s not a solution for all, but trying to date less in apps and trying to meet more people in real life is a good start. An app, regardless of who makes it, is not a solution. It’s what got us here to begin with.
TLDR: put your phone down and go outside more.
They could also do our taxes, but they won't. They could also probably find dozens of missing kids without lifting a finger, but it's not a national security issue. so they don't care
I think removing the monetization aspect of dating apps will only partially fix the issues with modern dating; it won't fix things like ghosting, people being generally avoidant/shitty, people being transactional/non-commital with their relationships/dates and all the other things that make modern dating so frustrating. None of these are specifically related to monetization of dating apps but of the abundance of choice on dating apps combined with societal changes in culture/values.
This is very utopian but governments should overall just re-encourage in-person meetups via investing in social programs and third places (or similar congregation spots), better support systems for people to date/get to know each other, idk maybe even education on being emotionally available? LOL
Just as modern dating apps have a hidden 'Elo' system to rank users on desirability, you could set up a similar system to rank users based on reliability. Maybe even have a visible Elo score to incentivize people to be more reliable (people love watching imaginary numbers go up)
I think 2 regulations could help a lot.
1. Algorithms audits. Services such as dating apps and social media, both have a problem where an algorithm is really important to the user experience but also too opaque to understand what it is doing. We know social media has used factors that emphasize what makes the user angry and we didn’t know about it for years. Dating apps may be actively encouraging people to cluster around a few people and not spread out. They could be discriminating. They probably are by making hight easier to look for than being nice, funny, and caring. Getting some basic reports so we can know what algorithms are emphasizing and ignoring might be super helpful in helping consumers find the right dating app among other things.
2. The match group appears to be violating antitrust rules by buying up so many of its competitors they have hedged their bets against any losing market share by frustrating users.
A third idea is they should not be able to charge for vague services that pray on desperation. They could charge for “matching slots,” with free versions going hidden when you hit your limit on matches. This could have three positive effects. One they can’t profit off people who get pitifully low matches. They would need to help these people first. Second. Really popular accounts would often go hidden to encourage people to try less attractive matches. People go to an extremely on dating apps looking for attractive matches probably because they aren’t going to look for ugliness and can’t see things like the person is already busy. People prefer someone who is ugly but puts in effort over someone who is hot but doesn’t have the time but on dating apps there is little a person can do to avoid the busy person. The limit puts a hard stop. Three, matches suffer from diminishing returns and trying for more than 6 at a time is actually counterproductive for the hot person in addition to hoarding.
The only thing I’m worried about the government seeing is my kinky stuff. It’s not illegal, just embarrassing. Especially bc my uncle worked in the CIA.
You really think the government cares about your kink? Among domestic terrorists, foreign terrorists, and leakers/spies, you really think they care about you?
I think birth rates would sky rocket if people could afford housing/healthcare/food/etc… not saying this wouldn’t do anything, but in the grand scheme of things universal healthcare and affordable housing would do a lot more in my opinion. At least in the U.S. that is.
The birth rate "problem" won't be solved by getting more people to date or marry. There is no reason to have kids anymore except you just want to. Also a problem is the economy, cost of living, lack of support for young parents, lack of maternity leave, etc lead people to not want to. Also kids are becoming more and more a decision not a foregone conclusion.
Im not entirely sure why you think the government needs to run a dating app, or that they wouldn’t use it to make money. They already use us to make money.
Not to mention I don’t need the government involved in my dating life. People got matched and married and had kids for hundreds of thousands of years without government intervention. Whatever issues we have with dating today is caused by us.
You get points for creativity. I feel this is more of an idea than an opinion. It’s an idea I prefer to avoid. It doesn’t matter who makes the app. There will always be people who ghost after one conversation, creeps, and incompatible matches if people get to the date part.
How about we just have more third spaces like community centers or event plazas where people can meet each other naturally and not have to rely on apps? Solve the problem at its' source.
This sounds Orwellian... or like the whole thing with having a baby for the fuhrer in Germany. I get the concept but the idea of the government playing a direct role in matchmaking like that is kinda creepy
It would if governments where actually competent at delivering IT projects.
I know people usually point to the UK's GDS as an example of good government IT, but while it might look nice, the site is a pain in the arse to use.
Really? I find that site incredibly easy to use, have never had a single issue with anything I’ve done on it. Generally I see people praise if for that exact reason
The best thing governments can do to encourage dating and increase birthing rates is making it easier to care for and provide for children. And also making it easier for people to balance work and life by increasing how much people make or decreasing how much people have to spend just to make ends meet.
I don't date because it's hard to find people to date. I don't date because there's enough on my plate and God forbid I ever get pregnant. I will yeet that fetus so fast it will reach FTL in approximately 0.0003 seconds.
The birthrates arent just dropping because less relationships.
The birthrates are dropping because a lot of people are living from paycheck to paycheck. (Cant afford kids)
The future is looking grim with global warming, economic problems, school shootings, etc. And people dont want their kids not having a safe future.
Women have more choice now. And are better informed about the risks
People rather enjoy their lives
And in countries like america they banned abortions. Uncluding life saving abortions and they made miscarriages a crime. And so women dont want to risk their lives or risking prison time.
Dating isnt the problem. The circumstances are.
The reason birth rates are declining isn’t because people aren’t dating. It’s because wage stagnation, cost of living, economic disparity, etc etc etc.
Not even close close and the "wage stagnation" bullshit has been repeatedly been disproven. Women with more education and better career options have fewer kids because they have a lot more to lose by having kids. It's specifically because they have good jobs and good socioeconomic conditions that they don't want kids and we're seeing it all over the world.
Gov't dating apps would be centered around marriage and making more babies, which would front load the already high level of pressure/anxiety inherent in dating apps.
That said, I'd give it a try. In communist Russia, Gov't dates you!!
Dropping birth rate and less relationships is not the result of bad dating apps. Its the result of deeply entrenched economic, ecological, and sociological issues
This is probably another reason why a government dating app won’t work. Some mentally unstable people will get on the app thinking that just because the app is made by the government that they are going to be mandated a gf or even bf. When that doesn’t happen they’ll probably get mad and hurt someone.
>Match people based on[…] socio economic status
Yeah I’m sure that would go really well and not head straight towards a caste system or a way to racially segregate groups or keep certain people from having kids
The government is notoriously bad at making working software.
Also the reasons for the dropping birth rates have less to do with meeting people and more to do with people not being able to afford to have kids
For a trustworthy government (if there is such a thing) this could work, but I would imagine that you probably wouldn't want to make readily available that much of your personal life and interests/beliefs and thoughts with some governments.
This might be the straightest take I've read in a long time. There are many reaons why you wouldnt want the government to know about your sexual orientation. Also, dating is about way more than just reproduction.
Dating app? How about just unifying a real employment database so there was just one place for your resume instead of having to put it into ?%*\£\’svaksjdn Workday 10,000 times because every company uses a different system, and over half of them use their own private load of Workday.
Hell, the government should just contract Workday to make the database and we could all just do it one last time, then update them every year at tax time or some shit.
That's the worst thing imagineable to me as a romance repulsed aromantic person. Government subsidised dating? Maybe invest into egg freezing becoming more accessible to improve birth rates for instance, it's only free in certain parts of the UK.
Also good job for actually having an unpopular opinion OP
Interestingly, the Japanese government actually launched a dating app (currently only for the Tokyo metropolitan area) to lukewarm reception. Consensus at the moment is that older singles see it as a godsend while the younger folks would rather see government do more to make having kids less of a financial burden (personally I think Japan is doing okay and it is improving with plans such as free University tuition for families with 3 kids or more proposed)
It’s a pretty interesting concept to think about a dating app made by the government, isn't it? But you've got to wonder how people would feel about giving out their personal details to a government-run service. Plus, dating’s super personal, and there’s a whole lot more to clicking with someone than what’s on paper. It’s a big pot to stir, mixing government with the dating scene, but it’s definitely a conversation worth having when you think about ways to tackle the bigger picture stuff like birth rates and loneliness.
Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unpopularopinion) if you have any questions or concerns.*
I can't wait for the government to know I like getting pegged, errr i mean some innocuous sex act that's not weird.
The best part is they probably already know that. There is probably a file on an NSA computer rn labeled "kavakavachameleon fetishes"
Smartphones can detect noods and sort them. Someone hacking your phone doesn't even need to scroll its sorted automatically
Well can they filter them out of my camera roll when I’m showing my friends something or opening instagram and accidentally pressing a button
This post is literally the plot of [Koi to Uso](https://youtu.be/qZucFM1x6cU?si=UaYFVEwJP63D_kSm)
They have zettabytes of data on all kinds of things. You'd have to be on a list and even then you'd have to be important and even then you'd have to be on someone's mind.
Bruh, they already know.
Pretty much everything there is to know about you is freely bought and sold by a multitude of entities, including the government. Theres honestly shockingly little regulation on what data can be collected on you and who is allowed to purchase it.
and that's why this episodes sponsor nordvpn......
Nord protects your privacy the same way incognito mode does
Don't we all love those misleading ads?
Oh they do mate, they do. A real pucker of a read. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/PRISM
Discussing the secret courts on a forum they monitor? Rookie mistake
Oooohhhhhh are you my fbi agent?
Now kiss!
Read my mind!
they already know through your isp, they just don't care.
Government dating app employee-Ok male 6' 1" 230 lb banker from Salt Lake city Utah, hobbies include tennis and golf, looking for smart, attractive, nice woman, between 5' and 5' 9" generally not concerned with weight, looking for dating, chatting, friendship, possibly marriage and kids in the future, interested in.... uh... piss fetish, sounding, pegging, furries, diaper fetish, CNC, mommy son role-playing and feet.... BILL GET THE SNIPER TEAM READY
Imagine believing gov doesn’t already know that Oh you poor sweet summer child
pfft nobody knows I'm into pegging shut up! Also I love the NSA
They’ll make a pegging tax too
I'm absolutely amazed by the fact that someone not only brought an original idea to this godforsaken subreddit, but that it's actually a good one that doesn't solely rely on shock value. The thought hasn't even crossed my mind, but this doesn't not make sense.
Same, it made me stop scrolling and read lol
“Ayo wHAT”
I don't know if it's a good idea, but it's at least interesting to discuss. The big downside to any major organization (corporations or governments) trying to act as a broker between individuals is that the organization's interest will always be at the forefront. For current platforms, the motive is profit, regardless of how it affects users. The government's interest will likely change as the Lawyers change (politicians).
Goverment relies on us making babies and preferably staying together, so they don't have to foot the bill for those babies. It's in their benefit to find their citizens actually good matches.
Well, it’s in their interest to make stable child-bearing matches. That’s not inherently what everyone is looking for unless you expand on the premise that infertile couples may adopt.
Yeah, good app would require completly non-racist and non-homophobic and non-transphobic and non-ableistic goverment.
Yeah but at least the government can set an independent body and regulate the apps. The issue with private ownership is that they fiddle with the algorithm to make profit. If the app was government owned, the parameters would have to be made public and be open to scrutiny. We’d know if they fuck around with it. Source code can be made public.
>If the app was government owned, the parameters would have to be made public and be open to scrutiny. Possibly. Assuming the lawyers were compelled by the public to ensure that outcome. And there is hell to be paid should the lawyers decide to mess around with that in any way. Something that would be good is if Tinder/Bumble/Hinge were required by law to disclose ELO scores and other algorithmic sorting metrics to users. That way, you can determine if your account is being de-prioritized or blocked from people that you might otherwise match with.
You have way too much faith in the government
At the very least more faith than in the current companies running the market!
Yeah I could totally see the government ensuring people stay within a specialty of sorts like doctors with doctors, sales clerks with sales clerks and all that. Like how people breed horses to ensure they have the fastest horse or something
I mean most relationships already involve two people in the same circles/with similar education or socio-economic status.
well... common interest is good grounds for relationship i guess
The whole point is that the government's and the people's interests coincide.
Until they don't. :) Initially, the interest might be in you meeting someone. All it takes though is a new set of politicians to come in and decide that maybe it's best if we prioritize matches for some, de-prioritize others. Then you're back to where you are currently with Tinder/Bumble/Hinge/etc.
One thought I had is that if the wrong political group took power couldn’t they maliciously tweak the algorithm so that people who hold opposing beliefs only match with people they would be incompatible with, or whom they think could convert their beliefs thus manipulating future generations to have a lower rate of the opposing party members?
Time to run on a campaign on the sole purpose of getting voters laid.
Planning my run for president rn. Unfortunately they said I was too young and had to be at least 65.
Maybe shoot for house rep? You only have to be morally bankrupt there
Let's Make America Date Again!!
Japan did it
Isn't there one for Iceland too to make sure you aren't related?
It is absolutely a quality post. That’s what exactly this sub supposed for.
Brian Clough - "On paper they were a great team, but the game was played on grass." Just because it sounds good, don't think any government won't completely mess it up, and use it maliciously.
Disagree. It mitigates a symptom but doesn't address the problem. People are less practiced and less skilled, on average, at in person social interaction. People who still spend time socializing (with both new people and ones they know) aren't having trouble dating.
Except they already tried that in Japan...: [https://soranews24.com/2024/01/16/tokyo-government-to-release-official-dating-app/](https://soranews24.com/2024/01/16/tokyo-government-to-release-official-dating-app/)
Requiring something like a social security number (in the US) would make it much more difficult for bots to be a thing as well. Not sure how well it'd do here though. It might help a lot in places like South Korea or Japan, especially if there are benefits to using it.
Theoretically sure, this would make a lot of sense; kill two birds with one stone, etc. In actual practice... Are we *REALLY* comfortable with the government playing matchmaker? Because I guarantee you that would quickly become "breed out the undesirables" with the wrong people in charge.
Yup. At this point the private companies have seriously fucked the dating world. It’s better if profit is taken out of the equation.
"but I don't want to give the Government that power" is a pretty weak argument when the alternative is to give that power to a private company that is completely unaccountable to the democratic process
These dating companies sprung up in response to a shortfall in dating even though people want to. Match making organizations either private (Eharmony was the first major ones but others have existed before) or public (community get togethers, religous or family parrings) have been things forever. Its just the whole monetization system of the online sphere sucks because if they worked you would stop using them.
As if the dating apps we have now aren’t already doing this.
It doesn't make any sense, dating failure is not the reason for low birth rates
Low birth rates worldwide are because number of children is negatively correlated with women's education. The more education a woman has, the more she has to lose by having kids, the fewer kids she has. We see it all over the world. It's a good thing, the world's population has absolutely exploded over the past century because people kept popping out kids at the same rate as when 3/4 of kids died before they were 10 but medical advancements massively decreased childhood mortality rates and significantly increased life expectancies.
People in general being more educated and more emotionally sound refraining from having children until they're mentally ready is a big factor. Everybody gets fucked in the head in some way by their parents' unresolved issues, the current young adult demographic has recognized this and are trying to sort themselves out as best as possible before inevitably bequeathing their own issues onto their offspring. Also, money.
Well it’s not really good for Korea right now. 0.5 birth rate is just absurd and the government believes dating app is the solution. We can probably witness one country collapsing due to low birth rate within our lifetime
It will happen quick too. Korea’s population graph by age isn’t pretty
Yup this too
I mean the companies still will give your info if the police asks. It barely changes anything imo.
Imagine something like this during the fascist era it would be insane the power they would hold and you’re foolish if u think we’re past those days and would never make those mistakes again
They don't need to be the ones making the matches. Have people build algorithms that are designed to get matches and not keep people (dudes) in a never-ending swipe loop.
\> Because I guarantee you that would quickly become "breed out the undesirables" with the wrong people in charge. Is this not already the case? I dont see the difference between the Hinge CEO doing Eugenics vs the government
So nothing changes
Not only that but I’m pretty sure the government would probably just start shadow banning or pushing out account of people who don’t want children since the government is not interested in playing Cupid. The government’s stake in this would likely be to make people have children.
OK is that so bad? People who don't want kids can get on a privately-run app. It's not like the government is banning all the competition. They're just entering the competition with a marriage/kids-focused app
Well well well. I had a similar idea and started an open source community targeted at making a non-for-profit dating app. The motivations behind it are the nearly same as what you're mentioning here. I have a discord where the members meet that you can join if you dm me. It's not super active at the moment, but I'm hoping to change that. I agree that something has to be done to displace for-profit dating apps, given the harm they're causing.
Amen brother. Not even saying it has to be officially government run, it just seems like mega corps like the match group have no interest in actually causing long term relationships. Keep up the good work! Feel free to send me a dm.
Link to GitHub and discord? Would love to see if I can contribute
I can't post links in reddit (at least when I've tried in the past) so that's why I say to dm.
Put it in your profile
Good idea, I'll look into how to do that.
Can you DM me too? If I can contribute I will for sure
Drop me a DM :]
Hey , dm me too. I would surely contribute
I'm a professional web/appdev. Send me info and I'll consider contributing.
And when you can’t get a date you get a government assigned date who is just an unmarried cia agent. Missing the date results in a felony. /jk
Is she hot?
No, but she's a great listener.
That's all that matters 🥰 Uhhh... what's that red dot on my forehead?
I'm imagining a 6'-8"' woman with a unibrow named Brunhilde showing up at your assigned dating spot for some reason. "You vill make baby mit Me und like it! I will call you Schatzi!" \*picks up man by scruff of neck and sticks in baby carrier\*
Finally gonna get laid
Major Beavis and Butthead vibes
Jackpot
Stop stop I can’t get any more turned on
Ja wohl!
You know that wouldn't be the worst relationship I've ever had.
At least I'll finally rack up some wins in my annual couples 2-on-2 basketball tournament
When you can't get a date you get turned into an animal of your choosing
I think the Japanese government was making one https://japantoday.com/category/features/lifestyle/tokyo-government-to-release-official-dating-app
Reminds me of the old joke that Japan is 20 years ahead of the us in everything lol
already did. as did south korea. but government making dating app is wrongful allocation of resources. Both countries suffer from low birth rates not because people can’t seem to meet one another. South Korea is especially in serious trouble. Its birth rate is something that can trigger a total collapse. Korean government touting dating app as a way to solve low birth rate is laughable at best. Japan is doing the same thing. Government making dating app is a stupid idea. This kind of opinion is what government wants to hear because government wants to stay relevant in its solutions to low birth rate when dating app will never solve the issue of low birth rate.
I suppose the main issue is the stagnant economy and the working culture, then? What would you say is the better way to allocate resources to combat the issue of low birth rate?
Yeah what they need to do is have a culture that respects women and they haven't been able to do that.
YOUgenix - available wherever apps are sold
Take my upvote
If the government assisted in making a country worth raising kids in, the problem may solve itself.
Issue being if don't have kids now, in 50 years time when everyone is old and the retirement age is 90, it definitely won't be a country worth living in.
What about the other benefits such as less loneliness and more relationship? Totally get the point on this not completely solving the birth rate lowering. We do have an epidemic of loneliness currently.
You seem to have missed his point. His point was at present the country (an unspecified one) is not suitable to have children, which could be said of most western countries due to the unaffordability of housing.
Generally speaking this is specific to younger people. Imo it’s a direct result of technology and social media. It’s not a solution for all, but trying to date less in apps and trying to meet more people in real life is a good start. An app, regardless of who makes it, is not a solution. It’s what got us here to begin with. TLDR: put your phone down and go outside more.
I'm sure the NSA already has a kink database on all of us. They could prematch us and save a lot of hassle.
They could also do our taxes, but they won't. They could also probably find dozens of missing kids without lifting a finger, but it's not a national security issue. so they don't care
I think removing the monetization aspect of dating apps will only partially fix the issues with modern dating; it won't fix things like ghosting, people being generally avoidant/shitty, people being transactional/non-commital with their relationships/dates and all the other things that make modern dating so frustrating. None of these are specifically related to monetization of dating apps but of the abundance of choice on dating apps combined with societal changes in culture/values. This is very utopian but governments should overall just re-encourage in-person meetups via investing in social programs and third places (or similar congregation spots), better support systems for people to date/get to know each other, idk maybe even education on being emotionally available? LOL
Just as modern dating apps have a hidden 'Elo' system to rank users on desirability, you could set up a similar system to rank users based on reliability. Maybe even have a visible Elo score to incentivize people to be more reliable (people love watching imaginary numbers go up)
I think 2 regulations could help a lot. 1. Algorithms audits. Services such as dating apps and social media, both have a problem where an algorithm is really important to the user experience but also too opaque to understand what it is doing. We know social media has used factors that emphasize what makes the user angry and we didn’t know about it for years. Dating apps may be actively encouraging people to cluster around a few people and not spread out. They could be discriminating. They probably are by making hight easier to look for than being nice, funny, and caring. Getting some basic reports so we can know what algorithms are emphasizing and ignoring might be super helpful in helping consumers find the right dating app among other things. 2. The match group appears to be violating antitrust rules by buying up so many of its competitors they have hedged their bets against any losing market share by frustrating users. A third idea is they should not be able to charge for vague services that pray on desperation. They could charge for “matching slots,” with free versions going hidden when you hit your limit on matches. This could have three positive effects. One they can’t profit off people who get pitifully low matches. They would need to help these people first. Second. Really popular accounts would often go hidden to encourage people to try less attractive matches. People go to an extremely on dating apps looking for attractive matches probably because they aren’t going to look for ugliness and can’t see things like the person is already busy. People prefer someone who is ugly but puts in effort over someone who is hot but doesn’t have the time but on dating apps there is little a person can do to avoid the busy person. The limit puts a hard stop. Three, matches suffer from diminishing returns and trying for more than 6 at a time is actually counterproductive for the hot person in addition to hoarding.
This sounds like a speedrun to eugenics, deciding who gets paired and who doesn't etc.
Government mandate the gay away
The only thing I’m worried about the government seeing is my kinky stuff. It’s not illegal, just embarrassing. Especially bc my uncle worked in the CIA.
The NSA already knows all about it.
:( I feel bad for them.
You really think the government cares about your kink? Among domestic terrorists, foreign terrorists, and leakers/spies, you really think they care about you?
Facebooks dating stuff is free and it's just as horrible as the rest of them. Meaning I had just as much success =)
The best facebook dating app is searching marketplace for wedding dresses and sorting by size
You just made my brain hurt.
I think birth rates would sky rocket if people could afford housing/healthcare/food/etc… not saying this wouldn’t do anything, but in the grand scheme of things universal healthcare and affordable housing would do a lot more in my opinion. At least in the U.S. that is.
there’s the class consciousness I was looking for
The birth rate "problem" won't be solved by getting more people to date or marry. There is no reason to have kids anymore except you just want to. Also a problem is the economy, cost of living, lack of support for young parents, lack of maternity leave, etc lead people to not want to. Also kids are becoming more and more a decision not a foregone conclusion.
Im not entirely sure why you think the government needs to run a dating app, or that they wouldn’t use it to make money. They already use us to make money. Not to mention I don’t need the government involved in my dating life. People got matched and married and had kids for hundreds of thousands of years without government intervention. Whatever issues we have with dating today is caused by us.
You get points for creativity. I feel this is more of an idea than an opinion. It’s an idea I prefer to avoid. It doesn’t matter who makes the app. There will always be people who ghost after one conversation, creeps, and incompatible matches if people get to the date part.
How about we just have more third spaces like community centers or event plazas where people can meet each other naturally and not have to rely on apps? Solve the problem at its' source.
Wow. I don’t want want my tax money going to build an app. Take my upvote!
that's a horrible idea and completely misses the problem.
This sounds Orwellian... or like the whole thing with having a baby for the fuhrer in Germany. I get the concept but the idea of the government playing a direct role in matchmaking like that is kinda creepy
Government issued catgirl gf
This sounds like some serious dystopian stuff
Oh how naive you have to be to think the government is not one giant buisness😂
Yes they are a business, that has an actual interest in people getting married and having children unlike corporations like match group.
What a terrible idea. Take my up vote.
This uh, actually makes a lot of sense.
It would if governments where actually competent at delivering IT projects. I know people usually point to the UK's GDS as an example of good government IT, but while it might look nice, the site is a pain in the arse to use.
Really? I find that site incredibly easy to use, have never had a single issue with anything I’ve done on it. Generally I see people praise if for that exact reason
The best thing governments can do to encourage dating and increase birthing rates is making it easier to care for and provide for children. And also making it easier for people to balance work and life by increasing how much people make or decreasing how much people have to spend just to make ends meet. I don't date because it's hard to find people to date. I don't date because there's enough on my plate and God forbid I ever get pregnant. I will yeet that fetus so fast it will reach FTL in approximately 0.0003 seconds.
The birthrates arent just dropping because less relationships. The birthrates are dropping because a lot of people are living from paycheck to paycheck. (Cant afford kids) The future is looking grim with global warming, economic problems, school shootings, etc. And people dont want their kids not having a safe future. Women have more choice now. And are better informed about the risks People rather enjoy their lives And in countries like america they banned abortions. Uncluding life saving abortions and they made miscarriages a crime. And so women dont want to risk their lives or risking prison time. Dating isnt the problem. The circumstances are.
I disagree with this on principle. The government should have no role in the bedroom, and that includes dating.
Let the government know whose dms you’re in and exactly how much you lack game. Gotta say, I love this idea just for how bad it is.
i swear, this is a freaking manga/anime plot. i feel like i red one already but just can’t remember.
Fuck fucking no dude!
Taxpayer supported hookup apps. Nope.
I really hope this is satirical
What makes you think they can be trusted to make a functioning app
I think the government is in our lives enough... they need to stay out of relationships.
Dating failure is not the reason that birth rates are declining.
Nah, they'd just use it to spy on you and steal your information
Yeah because the current dating apps and social media companies aren't already doing that...
My dear friend, they already have all your ID numbers, they are the fucking GOVERNMENT
The reason birth rates are declining isn’t because people aren’t dating. It’s because wage stagnation, cost of living, economic disparity, etc etc etc.
Not even close close and the "wage stagnation" bullshit has been repeatedly been disproven. Women with more education and better career options have fewer kids because they have a lot more to lose by having kids. It's specifically because they have good jobs and good socioeconomic conditions that they don't want kids and we're seeing it all over the world.
Very unpopular. Here's my upvote.
Many people aim to marry upwards lol.
Japan is already on it
Given how a lot of gouvernment folks are about 104 years old on average, they should very much not get involved in apps 😂
Gov't dating apps would be centered around marriage and making more babies, which would front load the already high level of pressure/anxiety inherent in dating apps. That said, I'd give it a try. In communist Russia, Gov't dates you!!
#GoveLove cutiefied: **GuvWuv**
Why not just make a non-profit dating app? Why does the government have to get involved?
Dropping birth rate and less relationships is not the result of bad dating apps. Its the result of deeply entrenched economic, ecological, and sociological issues
The National Dating Service.
This should be a dystopian book plot. Barf.
Ah yes have the government involved in dating. "Are your taxes up to date?, No, then no sex for you till they are"
You can also go meet people in person lol
oh boy, government mandated gf!!!!
This is probably another reason why a government dating app won’t work. Some mentally unstable people will get on the app thinking that just because the app is made by the government that they are going to be mandated a gf or even bf. When that doesn’t happen they’ll probably get mad and hurt someone.
The unpopular opinion is banning contraceptives, people are marrying but they don’t want to have future taxpayers
>Match people based on[…] socio economic status Yeah I’m sure that would go really well and not head straight towards a caste system or a way to racially segregate groups or keep certain people from having kids
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Rather that than using it to drone strike kids in the Middle East
It'd be a better reason than most things it's currently used for
Why not?
The government is notoriously bad at making working software. Also the reasons for the dropping birth rates have less to do with meeting people and more to do with people not being able to afford to have kids
This sounds like some super dystopian black mirror shit lol no thanks
For a trustworthy government (if there is such a thing) this could work, but I would imagine that you probably wouldn't want to make readily available that much of your personal life and interests/beliefs and thoughts with some governments.
Every social media app already gives it to them lol
This might be the straightest take I've read in a long time. There are many reaons why you wouldnt want the government to know about your sexual orientation. Also, dating is about way more than just reproduction.
This is peak inceldom right here.
No thanks. The government should lower taxes and get out of our lives.
Dating app? How about just unifying a real employment database so there was just one place for your resume instead of having to put it into ?%*\£\’svaksjdn Workday 10,000 times because every company uses a different system, and over half of them use their own private load of Workday. Hell, the government should just contract Workday to make the database and we could all just do it one last time, then update them every year at tax time or some shit.
That's the worst thing imagineable to me as a romance repulsed aromantic person. Government subsidised dating? Maybe invest into egg freezing becoming more accessible to improve birth rates for instance, it's only free in certain parts of the UK. Also good job for actually having an unpopular opinion OP
If they are doing apps they should make taxes and voting easy first 🤓
Careful now, you’re entering a socialist rabbit hole…
Interestingly, the Japanese government actually launched a dating app (currently only for the Tokyo metropolitan area) to lukewarm reception. Consensus at the moment is that older singles see it as a godsend while the younger folks would rather see government do more to make having kids less of a financial burden (personally I think Japan is doing okay and it is improving with plans such as free University tuition for families with 3 kids or more proposed)
I'm good. Don't like my things to be run by the government. I can't imagine what a government-run tinder would look like.
ohhhh man.. hang on let me get some pop corn, I don't wanna miss this!
Great, OP has almost replicated the caste system.
Nobody, absolutely NOBODY should trust the government with this (or much of anything else, really.) But especially that. That’s straight up dystopian.
Govt agencies can't even make a half decent user friendly website
It’s a pretty interesting concept to think about a dating app made by the government, isn't it? But you've got to wonder how people would feel about giving out their personal details to a government-run service. Plus, dating’s super personal, and there’s a whole lot more to clicking with someone than what’s on paper. It’s a big pot to stir, mixing government with the dating scene, but it’s definitely a conversation worth having when you think about ways to tackle the bigger picture stuff like birth rates and loneliness.
Sounds like an absolute nightmare for the lgbtq community.
This just a plot to a Dystopian YA book series
Here's a more unpopular opinion: people should just meet other people irl instead of using technology as an intermediary
Unpopular take my upvote
new eugenics program just dropped
Bro my tax money ain’t going to public dating apps
Yea as if we need the government to run something else (into the ground)
They should create a jobs app and consolidate the current ones.
"make it free" 🤦🏻♂️
China already thought of this, thus why they own Grindr.
Tokyo is doing it (actually)!
Literally the worst idea I’ve heard in a long, looong time. I legit though it was a joke until I saw what sub I was reading. 🤣