'Women want more choices. Tinder provides them that'

Taru Kapoor says India is going through a cultural shift in the dating space

It is not the traditional Indian way of doing things. After all, the most trusted ‘move' an Indian boy employs when wooing a girl is befriend her first. However, with the current need for speed and the dependence on all things online, it makes complete sense that Tinder, the dating app and inventor of the "right swipe" is redefining the dating culture.

"Dating in India is a nascent concept," says Taru Kapoor, CEO of Tinder India, explaining, "If you talk to youngsters between the ages of 18-25, you'll see that all of them have varying definitions of what dating is, of what a relationship is. It's a sort of social conditioning. Romance and love is a prominent part of Indian culture, but today, youngsters - especially women - want more choice instead of going down the conventional arranged marriage route."

Is there a shift?
According to her, the country has been going through an interesting "cultural shift" in the last five years. "You want to discover who you are, but at the same time, there is a fear of being turned down." Enter, Tinder.

"The app has become a platform that lets the user have a great degree of control - without the fear of ‘rejection.' With our social conditioning, the default assumption is that if someone comes up to you and introduces themselves, it just seems wrong. So how does one meet new people? Tinder doesn't create that need, it provides individuals with a solution to that need instead."

Does it make one shallow?
The reason to ponder on this question lies in the basic premise of Tinder: Can you judge people based on their looks, and that too in a matter of seconds? Turns out, research suggests that humans tend to form first impressions within a matter of seconds. "In that context, what's wrong with doing so over an app? Tinder is a reflection of real life," points out Kapoor.