• scarabic@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Job sites make money when you get a job. Companies pay a lot to get staffing vacancies filled. Recruiters and agencies cost a lot, so an online job board can literally get thousands of dollars sometimes for helping g facilitate a hire. This is how it should be.

    But with dating sites, it does not work this way. There is no deep-pocketed business customer willing to pay a lot for making a match. Just two people with subscriptions, and that’s the company’s entire revenue.

    I highly doubt that dating sites consciously try to prevent you from finding a mate because this will earn them more money. But I have to admit that the incentive structure is unhealthy.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      This is how it should be.

      It sets up a kind of moral hazard in the same way dating sites do. Which is to say, it creates an incentive for churn. Yes, I want you to get matched with an employer/partner, but no I don’t want that match to be permanent. I want it to last some period of time, before I reach out and lure you on to another pairing.

      I highly doubt that dating sites consciously try to prevent you from finding a mate because this will earn them more money.

      Both recruiting sites and dating sites are constantly trying to engage your attention with tempting offers to switch to someone new. This is because they generate money based on short-term placements rather than long-term matches.

      The ideal form of recruiter is functionally just a temp agency. Similarly, the ideal form of dating site is just an online brothel. Different time scale but functionally the same game.