Why does Facebook want you to date?

The social network is playing cupid.

An episode of the Beyond Today podcast, hosted by BBC Radio 4, titled "Why does Facebook want you to date?" was published on October 23, 2019 and runs 20 minutes.

October 23, 2019 ·20m · Beyond Today

0:00 / 0:00

Summary

Facebook helps connect people, but now it’s on a new mission to get people to fall in love. Facebook users in the US — it will be available in Europe next year — can create a dating profile and curate a list of secret crushes from among your friends. The dating industry is massive — estimates say that it will be worth $12 billion a year by 2020 — but Facebook has said its feature will be free. So, why is the social network getting into the business of love? Could it be after even more data about us? In this episode we speak to The Atlantic’s Kaitlyn Tiffany, who was at the official Facebook Dating launch party in New York. She talks about how it works and whether it could be a success. We also speak to developer Ben Berman, who’s created a game called Monster Match to show exactly how dating app algorithms work.Presenter: Tina Daheley Producers: Alicia Burrell, Harriet Noble and Lucy Hancock Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields

Episode Description

The dating industry is massive — estimates say that it will be worth $12 billion a year by 2020 — but Facebook has said its feature will be free. So, why is the social network getting into the business of love? Could it be after even more data about us?

In this episode we speak to The Atlantic’s Kaitlyn Tiffany, who was at the official Facebook Dating launch party in New York. She talks about how it works and whether it could be a success. We also speak to developer Ben Berman, who’s created a game called Monster Match to show exactly how dating app algorithms work.

Presenter: Tina Daheley Producers: Alicia Burrell, Harriet Noble and Lucy Hancock Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields