It’s largely responsible for the gamification of dating, which sounds bad in theory, but it’s just so darn fun… No list would be complete without the OG dating app Tinder, which arguably normalised swiping and the response, “On a dating app” to the question, “So how did you two meet?” You’ve probably downloaded, deleted and re-downloaded it several times and have a story or two to share from dates you’ve arranged through it.
Start swiping, scrolling and scrutinising your way to your next date with our picks of some of the best in the biz. In the words of Jesse Pinkman, it’s “science, b-!” You fill in the rest. What else triggers dopamine? Dating app matches, as well as notifications that light up your phone, including when someone you fancy sends you a message. Fisher also said that novel times trigger dopamine (responsible for mediating pleasure) in the brain, and we certainly would count the whole of 2020 as “novel times”, although it’s not always been pleasurable.
