Sitting in a bar and using a mobile phone app to scroll through pictures of pretty women or handsome men who happen to be nearby may seem a typically superficial approach to romance in the internet age.
Yet popular dating apps such as Tinder and Grindr, based on looks and proximity of people rather than their personalities, are closer to how we choose dates in the “real world”, experts have said, restoring traditional elements of impulse and serendipity to courtship. Tinder has a location setting that flags up nearby users and lets you flick through their photographs, deciding to “like” them or “pass”. If the person also likes the look of you, you can chat.
This differs from most dating websites, which ask users to