Dating
app says it’s not rife with married flirters: ‘simple logic should
reveal that it’s essentially impossible for any of these claims to be
accurate’
Tinder is pushing back against research claiming lots of its users are married.
Photograph: Alamy
Dating app Tinder has rejected research that estimated that 42% of its users are either married or in a relationship.
A spokesman told the Guardian that the figures by GlobalWebIndex
strongly contradicted its own internal numbers, and criticised the
methodology of the survey.
“The results of this tiny, 681 person study in the UK is a totally
inaccurate depiction of Tinder’s user base – this firm is making guesses
without having any access to real data on our millions of users
worldwide,” said the spokesperson.
The single largest age group on Tinder,
making up more than half of our entire user base, is 18-24. More than
93% of UK residents in that age range have never been married, according
to the UK’s office of National Statistics.
Without revealing any data about our users, simple logic should
reveal that it’s essentially impossible for any of these claims to be
accurate. Their methodology seems severely and fundamentally flawed.”
GWI’s report claimed that 38% of Tinder’s users were aged between 16
and 24, while another 45% were aged between 25 and 34. It also suggested
that 30% of Tinder users that it surveyed were married, while another
12% were in a relationship.
Is it “essentially impossible” for GWI’s claims to be accurate? If
30% of Tinder users were married, it is theoretically possible for them
to fall into the nearly half of the app’s users that are older than 24,
by Tinder’s own figures.
This, however, would indicate that nearly 60% of Tinder’s over
24-year-old users are married, which seems unlikely. It is unclear
whether Tinder’s “user base” figures refer to active or registered
users, which may also have an impact on the data.
GlobalWebIndex has defended its methodology, in its own statement provided to the Guardian.
“GlobalWebIndex data is based on interviews with a panel of more than
170,000 internet users worldwide, the largest on-going study into the
digital consumer - it’s not guesswork, and not just the UK, as Tinder
has suggested,” said GWI’s spokesperson.
“Our Tinder findings came from a recent study of 47,622 internet users aged 16-64 across 33 countries.
Reference to ONS marital data is irrelevant, and of the 621 who say
they use Tinder, almost all are from the 16-34 age group. Tinder’s
assertion that our methodology is severely and fundamentally flawed is
simply not correct.
We only publish statistically robust numbers, and self-reported
survey data is widely recognised as an effective way of understanding
consumer behaviour.”
The new statement from Tinder follows its separate rebuttal to the
original report, when another spokesperson told the Guardian that “those
statistics are completely inaccurate. I’m not sure how they sampled
that specific group of people, but it does not represent Tinder’s user
base”.
“More than 50% of Tinder’s userbase is age 18-24. And altogether, 85%
of our users are age 18-34.” A statement that was not so out of kilter
with GWI’s claim that 83% of Tinder users are aged between 16 and 34.
It’s the image of Tinder as a hookup app for people who already have
partners that appears to be most concerning the company, however.
Throughout its history, Tinder has maintained that it is not just for
arranging sex – or even for dating – preferring to pitch itself as “a
social network” that people use for platonic reasons too.
Was
Sarah Jessica Parker’s headdress offensive? Is the bottom having its
day? Can you be too subtle? And why are Beyoncé and Kim Kardashian
morphing into one? We answer these and other sartorial questions
Beyoncé with Jay Z and Kim Kardashian with Kanye West at the Met Ball 2015.
Photograph: Getty Images
Did anyone dress offensively?
The big question hanging over the Met Ball’s red carpet ahead of the
event was: how much guests would embrace this year’s Chinese theme and
who would cross the line into offensive sartorial stereotype dressing.
Each year, the Costume Institute Gala has a focus, and sometimes a dress
code, based around the exhibition. This year there were no rules and
red carpet watchers braced themselves for a car crash of cultural
appropriation. In the main this didn’t happen. “China: through the
looking glass” inspired twists on Chinese dressing – designer cheongsam,
headgear and gowns in auspicious yellow all made an appearance. Sarah
Jessica Parker’s headpiece by Philip Treacy was arguably too close to
the stereotyping bone. Her flaming-red number was more dragon costume
than chic, despite the actor having form for extravagant headdress on
the red carpet. SJP claimed that the real story was her dress which she
helped design with the H&M Conscious collection (not buying that,
sorry). The internet disagreed, and christened the headdress a homage to
Heat Miser. Meanwhile what Rihanna’s dress lacked in taste in one
sense, the “cheese omelette” gown
made up for it in another. Designed by Chinese couturier Guo Pei, it
showed how support for Chinese designers is way more powerful than
literal dressing.
Sarah Jessica Parker attends the ‘China: Through The Looking Glass’ Met
Ball in a Philip Treacy headdress and her own dress design in
collaboration with H&M. Photograph: George Pimentel/WireImage
But who did the theme well?
Anne Hathaway was careful. Her liquid-gold hoodie gown was designed
by Ralph Lauren, whose collection had been inspired by a Chinese artist.
Meanwhile, designer Michael Kors dubbed his dress for Kate Hudson as
“Traditional Asian with a Californian twist”, which sounds like fusion
cuisine at its most expensive. But the winners included Georgia May
Jagger, whose lilac Gucci embroidered dress made her look louche,
modern, traditional and hot, and Grace Coddington, who proved that there
is nothing more chic and confident than a woman in a pair of pyjamas.
Anne Hathaway in Ralph Lauren at the Met Ball 2015. Photograph: John Lamparski/Getty Images
How fashion was it?
Capital F, obviously. The Met Ball is tiresomely dubbed “the Oscars
of fashion”, but it is true; guests here have licence to put pushing the
style envelope ahead of the studio paycheck. Witness Alexa Chung
looking divine in Erdem and showcasing a pair of haute sideburns, which
will have appealed much more to a Wintour crowd than a Weinstein one.
FKA twigs meanwhile wore one of Christopher Kane’s lace lovers dresses,
which is this season’s get-it-or-go-home challenge. Special mention for
Solange Knowles’s Giles Deacon Star-Wars-meets-moules-marinière dress.
FKA twigs in Christopher Kane at the Met Ball 2015. Photograph: Broadimage/Rex Shutterstock
Who missed the memo?
Amal Clooney,
Dakota Johnson, Reese Witherspoon, Carey Mulligan, Uma Thurman, Hailee
Steinfeld … basically if you weren’t prepared to wear a Chinese
designer, engage with the theme or go Fashion (see above), then you
shouldn’t have been granted a $25,000 ticket. Risk-averse dressing is
not an option at the Met Ball.
George and Amal Clooney – wearing John Galliano for Maison Margiela. Photograph: Startraks Photo/Rex Shutterstock
Is half-arsed the new side-boob?
If you thought the red carpet had exhausted its roll call of the body
parts it is fashionable to flaunt, then you were woefully wrong. Right
now the bottom – or some of it – is where it’s at. We’re calling it the
half-arsed look – half-arsed also because it doesn’t really cut it in
style terms. Jennifer Lopez’s Versace number flashed the side of her
rear, while Beyoncé flashed her upper bum. The main objection to the
latter being not the risque factor but the Girl’s World ponytail which
made her head look like a spinning top at rest.
Jennifer Lopez in Versace at the Met Ball 2015. Photograph: Broadimage/Rex Shutterstock
Are Bey and Jay morphing into Kimye?
The gauzy dress, the over-the-shoulder pose, the spill of a back hem
and the dinner-jacketed date. It’s all getting rather repeat play for
our liking. Because for all their beauty and sparkle, both women are
starting to look forgettable. Kim claimed her inspiration was not
Beyoncé at the Met Ball in 2012 but Cher at the first Met Ball in 1971,
and everyone knows that you try to out-Cher Cher at your peril.
For a whole year now, Khloe Kardashian has been all about "waist training," and she shows no signs of tiring of it.
On Friday, the 30-year-old reality star took to Instagram to share a split-screen photo of herself
in a waist trainer, highlighting the insane hourglass figure the
contraption (it's a belt made from thick latex and cotton lining, which
just basically looks like a corset) helps her achieve.
Of course, Khloe isn't the only Kardashian to jump on the trend. Sisters Kim and Kourtney, as well as other celebrities, have also been open about their attempts to whittle their waists via the trainers:
