Fearless journalism is more important than ever. When news breaks, you need to understand what actually matters β and what to do about it. At Vox, our mission to help you make sense of the world has never been more vital. We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. Will you support our work and become a Vox Member today? Scrolling down, I find similar profiles within a one-mile radius of my apartment in Boston. I can filter them by body type, sexual position top, bottom, or versatile , and HIV status.
The Supreme Court ruled that same-sex marriage is a constitutional right. Today in Boston, two men can walk down the street holding hands without consequence. I created a profile identifying myself as a medical writer looking to talk to men about their experiences. I received about 50 responses including propositions. The most common reason users gave for going on the app is that sex feels great and Grindr makes it accessible, right at your fingertips.
The screen full of half-naked men excites users. Neuroscientists have shown that orgasm causes activation of pleasure areas of the brain like the ventral tegmental area while deactivating areas involved with self-control. And these patterns of activation in men are strikingly similar to what researchers see in the brain of individuals using heroin or cocaine. So when a neutral action clicking on Grindr is paired with a pleasurable response in the brain orgasm , humans learn to do that action over and over again.
This can be a normal pleasure response or it could be a setup for addiction, depending on the situation and individual. Grindr, intentionally or not, also leverages a psychological concept called variable ratio reinforcement , in which rewards for clicking come at unpredictable intervals. You may find a hookup immediately, or you may be on your phone for hours before you find one.
Variable ratio reinforcement is one of the most effective ways to reinforce behavior , and it makes stopping that behavior extremely difficult. Slot machines are a classic example. They hold out hope that the next pull will give them the pleasurable sound of coins clanking against a metal bin, and they end up pulling for hours.
