I/O
A New Dating App Thinks Video Chats Will Help Prevent Assault
There’s just one big problem
In I/O, columnist Lux Alptraum explores how technology intersects with sexuality and relationships. I/O will embrace the uncertainty of our future and help us craft a better tomorrow, together.
If you give people a novel new technology, they’ll use it to get laid. Long before Match.com formalized the concept of online dating as something people might pay a fee to access, lonely singles were turning to chat rooms and online bulletin boards in search of a little companionship.
Despite the fact that people have been hooking up online since the early days of the internet, there are still quite a few of us who remain convinced that meeting people online comes with an elevated risk. A list of online dating safety tips that ran in Bustle in 2016 advises readers to withhold personal information like their full name and employer, avoid taking their date home the first night they meet, provide friends with a detailed summary of where they plan to go, and even carry pepper spray.
And it’s not just the media amping up the idea that we should proceed with extra caution before meeting people from the internet. Filter Off, a new dating app that sets users up on 60-second video dates with potential…
