Dating apps and casino slot machines share an addictive mechanism: intermittent variable rewards. Both exploit the user’s dopamine, creating a cycle of expectation and frustration.

In slot machines, you press the button hoping the symbols will align to give you a prize. On Tinder, you swipe right, hoping for a match that might lead to something exciting.

An illusion of infinite choice is created, making relationships more disposable, because you know a new match is just a swipe away. This generates a cycle of dissatisfaction: instead of working on the relationship, you try another one. Commitment loses value because virtual abundance creates the feeling that there is always something better waiting.

In this piece, 3 monitors loop images of Tinder, Bumble, Ok Cupid, Hinge, and Happn, interspersed with sarcastic and cynical words/phrases from the unconscious giving orders for toxic behaviours.