Shis issue:

(Y Don’t be a passenger your whole life

(Y The ‘Blurred Lines’ of artistic plagiarism
Cae Tare tees 10 le] alecl a

And more!

Have your voice heard!

Contact: Elliot Chan, Opinions Editor

M opinions@theotherpress.ca

www.theotherpress.ca

 

No Tinder for old men (and women)

» Call it a bad tiered-pricing strategy, friendo

Elliot Chan
Opinions Editor
© opinions
@theotherpress.ca

 

F° Tinder users who are
over 30 years old, the
premium version of the hook-
up app will soon cost double
the price for those under 30.
It’s a tiered-pricing strategy
that movie theatres, airlines,
and restaurants have used for
decades, but why are people
upset about it?

Perhaps we think that
Tinder is trying to eliminate the
older demographic completely.
After all, the majority of
Tinder’s user-base is below 30,
generally between the ages of
18 and 24. But why would that
benefit the company? Would
having a dominant younger
user-base really help? I don’t
think so. I believe Tinder has
made a big mistake, and if
not for being a subsidiary of
InterActiveCorp, which owns
Match.com, OkCupid, etc., the
app is committing usability
suicide.

Tinder’s appeal is the large

: 30-million-registered-user

: gallery and the quick-on-

: boarding capability. Upping

: the price changes all that. The
: strategy will not only hurt the
: older demographic, but it'll also :
: hinder the younger people too. :
: Sorry if you are paying $9.99 for :
: the service, but I’m really sorry :
: if you are paying $19.99 per

: month to swipe left and right.

It’s true that paying a

: premium for the service may

: help users achieve their goal on
: the app, doing whatever they

: are doing, but with so many

: free social-connection services
: out there, including Hinge and
: Coffee Meets Bagel, Tinder

: appears to be merely poking

: holes in its monopoly.

Returning to the idea of

: age discrimination, a company
: has every right to present this

: form of pricing. It doesn’t

: have anything to do with

: discrimination; it’s more of

: just how the brand wants to

: represent itself. Think of all the
: fashion companies that only

: sell products to young, good-

: looking people. But then think

 

: of all the fashion dedicated

: to older folks or people of all

: ages. Tinder is clearly placing

: itself on the far side of any

: Venn diagram drawn. There

: are hundreds of dating/hookup
: services out in the market that

: will accommodate those forlorn :
: users. Tinder is not openly

: stating it, but it’s clear that it
: does not want to focus on them. :

It’s hard to say that Tinder,

: so widely successful doing

: whatever it is it does, has made
: a grave mistake. They claim

: to have done the research and

: all signs point to the strategy

: being successful. But I believe

Tinder did not have to take this

: route to be successful. We live
: ina time where age has nothing

to do with love, passion, or

Image from Thinkstock

: intimate connections. We live in
: a time where we claim 30 is the
: new 20. We live in a progressive
: time. The fact that one of the

: pioneering companies leading

; this progression decided to

: implement this type of fee

to keep certain users on the

: fringe is a big step backward

: anda rather surprising
discouragement.

 

Don't be that guy: Cranky and cynical

» Why being overly-cy

Mercedes Deutscher
Staff Writer

T° many people have
confused being critical and

being cynical.

To be a critical person is to
be well-informed and skeptical.
A critical person questions the
world around them and doesn't
accept everything blindly. They
may disagree with a popular
opinion after taking the time
and effort to become (not
necessarily formally) educated
about the issue. Being critical
can save a person from getting
into something they shouldn't
have gotten into. Critical
thinking can be the key to
success.

That being said, there is a

 

and being That Guy. That Guy
is cynical. To be cynical is to

nical hurts you

: be negative. Not negative as in

: having a negative opinion, but

: being negative about everything.
: It’s important to be critical of

: the world around us, yet to be

: distrustful of everything will get
: you nowhere.

It only takes clicking ona

: Facebook page to see cynicism
: at its finest. People spouting an
: overtly stubborn opinion, who
: refuse to back down even when
: proven wrong.

Someone with a cynical

: attitude is not fun to be around,
: because people don’t enjoy

: having everything around them
: tainted. Are you That Guy?

: Can you not see the good in

: anything?

Maybe That Guy is cynical

: because of a bad decision they

: made in the past. No one is

: immune to making the wrong

: choice. But rather than use that
difference between being critical : to justify being overly cynical,
: use that to help make better

: informed decisions in the future.

That Guy may be so cynical

: that they will resort to ad

: hominem attacks when people
: don’t agree with their consistent
: negativity. It is important to

: realize that these people are

: cynical about most things. Try
: not to take these attacks so

: personally, and don’ give them
: the satisfaction by replying to

: their insults. Just because That
: Guy is negative doesn’t mean

: you have to be.

These are the people who

: will claim that all politicians

: are sleazy and evil. They claim

: that the entire system is flawed

: and broken. Maybe some of

: what they say could be true.

: Nevertheless, it is not negativity
: that will solve the problem,

: but engaged discussions about

: potential solutions.

Remember to be aware of

: when you are being critical and
: when you may just be cynical. It
: will make things much easier for
: you and others in the long run.

 

i
Image from Thinkstock