Romance has the urgency of breaking news now. Dating apps are editorial fodder
The media's love affair with labelling every micro-emotion in modern love has given us a dating glossary longer than the Constitution. And just as legally binding in the court of Instagram. From The Times of India to The New York Times , every big and small news outlet in the world is bubbling with thinkpieces on modern dating. Even the horoscope section in newspapers is now warning the Aries and Scorpio duo to take it slow. The constant is that everyone seems confused about polyamory.
Never in the history of romance has love been treated with the urgency of breaking news—and I say that as someone on a deadline.
'Gen Z is one of the few age groups to take mental health and its serious consequences into consideration, however, amidst the constant battle, a lot of individuals have fallen prey to narcissistic behaviour and casual encounters,' mentioned a Hindustan Times article on lovebombing. The panic alarms get louder with every subhead. And none of these articles go unread.
In Lena Dunham's latest Netflix show, Too Much, the protagonist is seen reading a listicle on red flags to figure out if her new boyfriend is problematic—because how else does one diagnose potential dangers? The target audience—20-somethings navigating dating in the online world—very much needs it. We study these articles like scripture.
Unsurprisingly, dating apps are the usual suspects at media trials, being flogged for their many crimes. Thanks to pop-psychology, ample data is being cited to prove the fruitlessness of swiping on the apps. Endless thinkpieces have been written about how these platforms encourage ghosting, breadcrumbing, and all sorts of abhorrent behaviour.
Several critics have scrutinised Hinge's much-touted 'designed to be deleted' tagline, arguing that the app's architecture is far more parasitic than liberating. Jiya Tanna, wrote on her Medium blog that in practice, Hinge limits free likes and nudges users toward paid subscriptions—'gamified' features that feel like emotional extraction. An Observer article calls out how dating apps—including Hinge—exploit the insecurities of people looking for love.
Last month, Catherine Pearson, an NYT reporter, wrote about how the apps are struggling to retain users. Bumble has lost more than $40 billion since 2021. To all the hopeless romantics cursing the app's algorithm after yet another failed talking stage—congrats, justice is served.
Suzy Weiss, The Free Press reporter and producer, recently said in a podcast that dating apps might be dying, and that's a good thing. According to her, the apps made people feel degraded and hampered their ability to hit on someone in real life. 'Because we haven't exercised this muscle of being rejected, we're more and more afraid of it, and it sort of atrophied,' she said. Her last words? 'I hope we look back on dating apps and think, what were we doing. We were not in our right minds.' Tell that to the person deleting and reinstalling all four apps at 2 am, still hoping a slightly better match is just one swipe away.
Also read: Bucket lists, PTA meetings, Ozempic—welcome to online dating for 50-plus Indians
Is there hope for Hinge?
The global media is not only interested in flagging what's going wrong in the dating world, but also going back to the root of the problem. A popular podcast, Land of the Giants, interviewed Jonathan Badeen. He's the co-founder of Tinder and the monster who invented the swipe feature. Apparently, he did this after his acting career tanked. The mean comments about his screen presence pale in comparison to the hate he now gets for allegedly ruining romance.
Badeen got the coders excited. The geeks working at big tech companies ran to disrupt the dating market. Most of them were lifelong video game lovers anyway, so they applied the same logic to dating: Trigger rewards, keep the user guessing, make sure no one ever wants to log off. The goal wasn't love. It was retention.
Well, the jig is up. Singles are tired of the game—and now, they're tweeting about it, too. So when articles about New York City mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani's Hinge love story went viral, it felt almost unbelievable. News websites started flooding the internet, talking about his unconventional marriage and what it can mean for a generation of people dying to find a romantic partner.
Cameron Kasky didn't hold back while interviewing Mamdani for The Bulwark. On a hilarious rant about his broken heart, Kasky spotlighted one of the most pressing troubles of the politician's vote bank—the disastrous dating scene in New York. While Mamdani talked big about revitalising third spaces for Gen Z to meet each other in person, he also advised Kasky to 'reconsider' dating apps. 'There's still hope.'
'Zohran's big Hinge reveal indicates that one of the top contenders for NYC mayor has probably spent 20 minutes (at least) picking out his six most flattering photos and identifying his main dealbreakers. It also means that Zohran's familiar with the draining experience of trudging through 'how was your Tuesday' exchanges. Which, now that I think of it, probably doesn't differ much from the campaigning experience. If anything, swiping primed him for politics,' wrote Annabel Iwegbue in a Cosmopolitan article.
Also read: Why the 'long-term relationship' label is killing your dating game
Problems don't end with a match
I know the dating apps are responsible for the romance rot—but they were only the start of the problem. Mumbai-based Nod Magazine, which calls itself 'the new authority on modern living', has been taking the conversation forward. In an article published in April this year, Saachi Gupta talks about how Gen Z's sex life is bearing the brunt of their living arrangements. Turns out, the youth of the generation are being paid peanuts as salary and can't afford to move out of their parents' home. Hence, they're not getting much physical action. It's a big problem.
Another concern highlighted by journalists is how the new generation is not crazy about lifelong romantic partnerships. Infamous for my hot takes, I, too, was called on TV (twice) to explain how Gen Z lovers operate. Let's just say I left the older panellists more confused than they were before entering the studio.
I mean, just because I write about modern dating, am I supposed to understand it too?
Views are personal.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
India Today
2 hours ago
- India Today
Why is Saiyaara Gen Z's Aashiqui 2
Why is Gen Z crying, obsessing, and heartbreak-posting about 'Saiyaara'? Why are videos of people exiting theatres teary-eyed and clutching their chests going viral? Remember the vivid video of a man watching the film while being on an IV drop? The answer might lie in a familiar feeling, one millennial knows all too is Gen Z's Aashiqui 2Because 'Saiyaara' is doing for Gen Z what 'Aashiqui 2' did for millennials over a decade ago. It's letting them feel. Really a world of algorithmic love and blink-and-you-miss-it dating culture, 'Saiyaara' arrives with the emotional intensity of a handwritten letter. Directed by Mohit Suri, who also helmed 'Aashiqui 2', and backed by Yash Raj Films, the Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda-starrer doesn't rewrite the romance playbook. Instead, it replays it with a fresh ache, aimed straight at a new generation's heart. Much like 'Aashiqui 2' in 2013, 'Saiyaara' revels in grand declarations, lingering stares, and lyrics that bleed emotion. But what makes both films work across decades is how earnestly they believe in love. Not as a plot device, but as a life-altering Rahul-Aarohi to Krish-Vaani: The Romantic BlueprintIn Aashiqui 2, Rahul [Aditya Roy Kapoor] and Aarohi [Shraddha Kapoor]'s love story was one of ambition, addiction, and slow destruction. Their love was epic, but tragic. Millennials cried for weeks. The soundtrack lived on in every breakup playlist. Fast forward to 2025, and Saiyaara is striking a similar nerve, with slightly shifted emotional and Vaani bond over loss, loneliness, and love—much like Rahul and Aarohi—but their story doesn't collapse under its own weight. While 'Aashiqui 2' wears its tragedy on its sleeve, 'Saiyaara' gives space for growth. It lets heartbreak exist without glorifying self-destruction. The pain is still there, but so is hope. This is a film that takes its young characters seriously. It doesn't mock their pain or treat their romance as fleeting puppy love. It dives deep into the genesis of romance, messy, hopeful, idealistic, without apologising for the 'Aashiqui 2', reimagined for a generation that cries in the comments but also goes to Feeling Becomes a RebellionWhere Saiyaara stands apart, especially for Gen Z, is in its refusal to treat feelings with irony. This is a film that asks its viewers to surrender to melodrama, to believe in love without Gen Z, for all their memes and nihilism, are showing up for it. Because beneath the cool detachment of reels and dating apps, this is a generation craving sincerity. Saiyaara gives them permission to cry unironically, to feel deeply without needing to explain of Saiyaara's biggest emotional weapons is Ahaan Panday's portrayal of Krish Kapoor. He isn't a saviour, a superstar, or a stoic hero. He's emotional, messy, overwhelmed, a soft boy through and through. Much like Aditya Roy Kapur's Rahul, Krish wears his heart on his sleeve. But instead of spiralling, he chooses emotional responsibility. advertisementFor Gen Z boys rethinking masculinity, Krish might be a quiet not underestimate the music. Remember how 'Tum Hi Ho' became the unofficial heartbreak anthem of 2013, Saiyaara's soundtrack is possibly having the same impact. It's already flooding playlists and stories. Each track is engineered for emotional recall—rainy days, late-night walks, unread messages. And when a generation finds their emotions reflected in lyrics, the connection becomes 'Saiyaara' perfect? No. The script has its bumps. Some arcs could be tighter. But it doesn't matter. Because what this film nails, like Aashiqui 2 before it, is emotional truth. That raw, aching, "I can't believe love hurts this much" in a time when most things feel curated, 'Saiyaara' feels unfiltered. That's why Gen Z is flocking to it, breaking down after watching it, and heartbreak-posting in real doesn't just fill the gap left by 'Aashiqui 2'; it continues its if 'Aashiqui 2' was the last good millennial heartbreak movie, then 'Saiyaara' might just be Gen Z's first.- EndsYou May Also Like
Mint
2 hours ago
- Mint
NYT Connections #773: See hints and answers for July 23 puzzle
NYT Connections Today: July 23 brought folks back to The New York Times' Connections challenge, and this time around it was a wild ride. Four really different categories-some nostalgic, some technical-kept players on their toes. The day's puzzle wasn't just about picking words that fit. It needed a little creative thinking, too. Connections is all about spotting patterns buried in a grid of 16 words. Each day, solvers must group them into four categories. On July 23, these groups varied in tone and complexity. One set played on childhood chills. Another dove deep into steak cuts. Then came mortgage jargon. And finally, a weird wordplay group: animals that end with other animal names. Here's what clicked for solvers: Childhood nightmares (yellow): Real estate terms (blue): Animal wordplay (purple): The real estate and animal sections threw a few curveballs. They needed both memory and wordplay to crack. If July 23 felt like a stretch, seasoned players have some go-to tactics: Start with the obvious: If a theme jumps at you, lock it in early. Shuffle the grid: It breaks visual bias and helps spot hidden links. Think beyond definitions: Sometimes it's suffixes, wordplay, or sounds. Take your time: You have got only four guesses-think before you tap. The NY Times has rolled out Connections, and word‑play which fans love. This daily puzzle-created by associate puzzle editor Wyna Liu-asks you to group 16 seemingly random words into four themed sets. It is popping up everywhere on social media, and for good reason. The grid is simple, the stakes feel real, and each puzzle spans everything from literature to tech, geography to pop culture. What starts off easy can twist fast-so don't get too comfy with the first few matches. Think deeper. Notice the weird ones hiding behind the obvious. Connections is not another crossword. It is part word‑nerd challenge, part mind‑bender. It is easy to pick up, yet some puzzles make you pause. Players trade tips online-like whether suffixes or groupings matter. And it runs cross‑platform. You can play it on NYT's site, on your phone, in bed, on the train-anywhere. It is also social. You share flex screenshots, commiserate over brutal categories, and compare strategies. New puzzles drop daily. There is sudden global chatter. It's a small moment of shared effort in an otherwise busy world. A daily 4×4 puzzle where you group 16 words into four themed sets. No hints - just four chances to get the groups right. Yes, it works on the NY Times website and mobile apps. Puzzles start easy but can get tricky fast. It is quick, shareable, and gives that satisfying 'click' when you solve it.
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
Why is Mohit Suri's ‘Saiyaara' a sleeper super hit?
One moment, you are having a cozy time in the arms of your lover at a concert, and the next, you're on camera. And now the whole world knows about your affair and nothing can fix you! This week, we decrypt the phenomenon of anti-climax in the recent releases. 'Saiyaara': Chemistry, Commerce and Cinema Mohit Suri set the box office on fire overnight with his sleeper super hit Saiyaara, featuring newbies Ahaan Panday and Aneet Padda. Is good old-fashioned romance back with a bang? Why are people loving it? Also, why is everyone crying? Walter White explained chemistry as the study of change — growth, decay, and transformation. And that precisely is the plot of Saiyaara. Sheer chemistry. Debutant Ahaan Panday plays a brooding, angry young rockstar. Aneet Padda plays a shy romantic girl. Opposites attract, the chemistry crackles, and fate plays anti-climax. It's the chemistry of music and lyrics. He's music. She's lyrics. And their romance is the making of a great love song. What really makes this love story set our hearts on fire is that innocence and passion of young love that we see in the eyes of the lead pair. Ahaan and Aneet sell it — all the heavyweight, Mohit Suri–variety drama that powers the film along a similar trajectory as Rockstar, but in spirit, it's probably closer to 50 First Dates if you replace all the laughs with tears. Writers Sankalp S. Sadhanand (story & screenplay) and Rohan Shankar (dialogues) bring these characters to life — opposites who fall in love poetically and go through change, decay, and transformation, with all the intensity expected from this broken-heart, fading-mind dynamic. And the choice of medical condition could easily be a metaphor for forgetting the present and mentally living in the past — with the imminent danger of forgetting it all, given the ADHD of dwindling attention spans and the time we spend lost in thought. There's something charming about song lyrics doubling up as love letters as the kids fall in love, and we can't help but root, given the sparks and manic kinetic energy with which Suri captures the turbulence in this whirlwind romance — with an epic arc that would have made Yash Chopra smile. Just the sheer poetry of the worlds of the hard and the soft, the bitter and the sweet, dysfunction and order, and of art and commerce clashing and transforming each other. That this chemistry also set the box office on fire is surely news to cheer — despite a couple of scenes that go a bit… as the kids say, extra! Rom Coms and Reality Checks: Lena Dunham, who shot to fame with her bold and refreshing reality check on the Sex and the City–variety of chick flick storytelling, is back with yet another delightful reality check — this time on the Emily in Paris–variety of Brit rom-coms. Too Much is too much fun and a bit too relatable, given its expectation-vs-reality meme-type takedown of rom-com tropes with modern-day anti-climax. Like Girls, Too Much keeps it real, messy, and uncomfortable. The dysfunction in our lives and the far-from-pretty realities of relationships drive this series of ugly truths that feel lived-in because they are — the character is based on Lena Dunham herself. The men she writes are far from rom-com clichés — complex individuals and better written than the 'strong female lead' characters written by men. While most rom-coms make finding a man to love the biggest problem women have, the men don't fit into the primary needs of Dunham's protagonists The bigger conflict in Girls is the relationship she has with other women — her best friends. In Too Much too, the bigger conflict is the relationship she has with a woman she doesn't know, except that her ex left her for the other. Women in Lena Dunham's world resolve to never let a man get in between them .Megan Stalter — the spunky assistant–turned–partner in Hacks — makes for a very fun version of Lena Dunham, who is in the show too, playing her older sister. Despite all the hard truth bombs, Too Much still has that soft spot for rom-coms — the comfort food for women. So yeah, it never gets as uncomfortable or disturbing as Girls — this one's a lot lighter and more hopeful. R. Madhavan is back in a rom-com Aap Jaisa Koi, opposite Fatima Sana Shaikh The plot unfolds as a 40-year-old virgin with a curse — straight out of Good Luck Chuck — meets his polar opposite and falls in love. But then he finds out her secret, and the conservative in him is unable to process it. The leads, Madhavan and Fatima, do make this derivative rom-com work if your expectations are basic — but we've seen similar smash-the-patriarchy clashes executed better before. It just made me want to revisit the Varun Dhawan–Alia Bhatt film Badrinath Ki Dulhania for how organic and sincere the transformation felt in it. TV Gold Must-Watch of the Week: The Hunt The Hunt — The Rajiv Gandhi Assassination Case on Sony LIV — a platform I don't watch often because it offers no Chromecast streaming support. So I ended up watching on my phone after all the good buzz around it. ALSO READ:'No blazing climax, no glory at the end': Director Nagesh Kukunoor decodes 'The Hunt' I was blown away by the sheer authenticity of the recreation of the manhunt for Rajiv Gandhi's killers — and the auteur's voice. It's not just about telling you what really happened during the manhunt, but putting the lens on the biggest story between the scenes and lines — that of red tape and bureaucracy of those times. Nagesh Kukunoor, with writers Rohit Banawlikar and Sriram Raghavan, tells the story from a place of truth — and it shows. Especially in how we see the humanity of people on either side of the hunt. Given the explosive subject and sensitivity of the case, Nagesh Kukunoor stays in full control of the story — proving that you can tell the boldest of stories in the trickiest of times if you focus on the people, not the politics. Catch the full video of this FOMO Fix column on YouTube. From the hottest shows to hidden gems, overlooked classics to guilty pleasures, FOMO Fix is a fortnightly compass through the chaos of content. Expect timely recommendations, spoiler-free insights, and an honest heads-up on what to not miss.
