Some people have used Tinder to find relationships, but now the matchmaking app is in a relationship of its own—with Spotify.
The music app and Tinder have teamed up so users can “turn up the volume on their swipes”, according to the Spotify website. This means along with pictures, a bio, and sexual preference, users can now show their favorite artists and music preferences, along with customizing their profile with an anthem of their choice that others can listen to when they view their profile.
Tinder made it possible for its more than 50 million users to link their Spotify playlist to see which artists and songs they have in common with other users on Sept. 20. However, in order to play or preview other people’s songs, a Spotify account is not required.
Twenty-four to 34 years old make up 41 percent of Tinder users, and 16 to 23 year olds make up 39 percent of Tinder users, according to Statista.com.
Plattsburgh State senior history and political science Samantha Boyd said that Tinder is so popular among college students because, “it’s easier to meet people and everyone uses it.”
Boyd is not alone in finding the app to be a great way to meet people. In 2015, 59 percent of U.S. adults agreed, according to The Pew Research Center.
“Overall it’s just an easy app to use,” Boyd said, “and it makes talking to people a little less stressful rather than going up to someone random in a public place.”
However, Boyd doesn’t consider music interests when finding a partner. “I like any type of music and usually will listen to anything. I don’t know how the college age-group will react to it, maybe more people will get together on the fact that they both like the same music which is pretty interesting,” she said.
PSUC alumnus and musician, Nicholas Arma, sees music as “a gift to the world” and spends a lot of his free time making music in his home studio.
“Music brings people together, so I think it’s the start of a good idea. Right off the bat you may or may not have something in common. The music could be a comfy ice breaker,” Arma said.
A study was done in 2010 for the Empirical Journal, Psychological Science, where scientists, Peter Rentfrow and Sam Gosling found that college students getting to know each other over the Internet are more likely to ask about music preferences than any other categories of conversation.
But will profile song choice have an impact on how Tinder users swipe?
“If I’m on the fence about someone, it might show me some true colors and swipe right,” Arma said.
French scholar from Medical Daily Jules Combarieu said, “Music is the art of thinking with sound,” and can reveal a lot about a person’s personality.
On Tinder, you can see what a person looks like and read a small bio about them, but according to Medical Daily, music interests may help users base their decisions off personality rather than just looks. Combarieu’s studies showed that music could even reveal a lot about a person’s morals and values.
PSUC Minor Adjustments singer, Will Linendoll, doesn’t feel that music interests can make or break a relationship.
“For the most part, I am open to all music genres, and I would like my significant other to be the same,” Linendoll said.
He also feels that Tinder has turned into mostly a “hook-up” app for a lot of it’s college-aged users, but he thinks that incorporating music interests into the app will help change that stigma.
“I feel that Tinder still struggles with “hookup culture” and that this is an attempt to move away from that,” Linendoll said. “Many people will still base their swiping off of looks, but some will take advantage of the feature and find more meaningful connections.”
It seems that Tinder and Spotify have found a meaningful connection, so maybe their users can too.
For those interested in adding music to your Tinder profile, tap “Edit Info” in Tinder to view your Spotify options. To connect your Spotify account for more options, tap “Show your music interests,” then “Connect Spotify.”
Email Cardinal Points at cp@cardinalpointsonline.com
