By Regina Yan
The story of Nextflix’s Tinder Swindler shocks the world as Israeli con-actor Simon Leviev’s manipulation and deceit being revealed. Playing the role of the “prince of diamond” on the hunt from his supposed enemies, Leviev preyed on numerous women from 2017 to 2019, leaving a trail of heartbreak and financial ruin in his wake. Victims such as Cecilie Fjellhøy, Pernilla Sjoholm, and Ayleen Charlotte not only lost their life savings but were also induced to take out loans to fund Leviev’s fancy lifestyle.
Sadly, Leviev is not the only scammer out there, as similar incidents continue to be prevalent among the social media platforms. According to ABC News, 70 thousands Americans reported their victimhood of romance scams in 2022, resulting in a staggering collective loss of $1.3 billion. As the scam cases on apps like Tinder inducing fear of getting defrauded among the people, they begin to seek for alternative ways of online dating with authenticity being their criteria.
Unlike regular dating apps like Hinge and Tinder, where everyone can register, Raya sells exclusivity and authenticity, like the Soho Club. Based on Women’sHealth, released in 2015, Raya was founded under the premise of creating a safe place for celebrities who seek love. To join the app, the person needs to be referred by a current member first. After that, they need to submit an application including information about your occupation and location, as well as your Instagram account, which will be reviewed by their team. Once you are accepted, you still need to follow a set of rules to protect the privacy of other users and prevent being kicked out.
1- The Birth of Exclusive Dating Apps
In 2021, the story of the Friends Star Matthew Perry hitting on a nineteen-year-old TikToker went viral, which drew attention to the dating app he uses, Raya, as reported by the Daily Mail.
Raya quickly spreads among the celebrities and influencers in Hollywood as a sign of social status and then gradually expands to other successful individuals, such as entrepreneurs. According to The New York Times, it has over a hundred thousand people on its waitlist. Someone even offered ten thousand dollars just for an account.
Raya is not the only app profiting from people’s need for authenticity. Washington Citypaper provides a long list of applications doing the same thing, such as Seeking, Millionaire Love and Luxy which either contains a background check or other ways of verification.
2- LinkedIn as a dating app
What if you are not rich enough to get accepted into apps like Raya? Yes, it’s true. People are direct messaging people they find attractive on LinkedIn for dating. A survey by DatingNews shows that 52% of all the respondents prefer networking sites as LinkedIn for dating then all the other methods.
According to Yahoo, one of the biggest reason behind the trend of using LinkedIn for dating is the authenticity. Most people would post less photoshopped-photos on LinkedIn to accord the professional culture, so catfishing would be less likely. The presence of verification and career information also make people feel more secured on LinkedIn than on dating apps which have the reputation being unreliable.
Conclusion
Both the rise of Raya and LinkedIn delivers one message: People desire more reliability in online dating. To serve for that purpose, they can sacrifice their privacy and money. Can they make online dating completely transparent and safe? Probably not. Yahoo suggests that Matthew Perry took advantage of the young girls on Raya to get him illegal drugs. LinkedIn does has inaccurate profiles. Nonetheless, those exclusive dating apps would still thrive. People just need a bit of authenticity in this online world full of lies.
Social Media@ NYUPraha 