So what’s the deal with Stir, the new dating app for single parents from the group behind Tinder, Hinge, Plenty of Fish, OKCupid, and others? If you’re here, you’re either already aware of Match Group’s new app, “Stir”, and looking for another opinion of it; or you’re here to learn about it. Either way, read on – We got what you’re lookin’ for (unless you’re lookin’ for another single parent who you can woo via text messages, we don’t got any of that here).
Dating’s gone digital. At this point, you just have to admit it. You don’t have to like it, hell, I sure don’t. You’re more than welcome to force a “believable” smile when you hear your umpteenth friend’s tinder success story. You can quietly grumble about it if you want, too. I know I do.
But, (un)fortunately, that’s the nature of the sick, twisted, comedy-reality tv show we all seem to be characters in. You used to be a freak for using the computer, some 20 years (seasons) ago. The internet was reserved for the dorks, the geeks, and the bleeding edge of weirdos. Now, if you try to strike up a conversation with someone at the bar without matching them first, you’re a weirdo. If there’s one takeaway, in my opinion, it’s how at least the writers of this reality/series are thorough. The continuity, the depth to the subplots in this world? Truly astounding, as is the irony. All you can do is laugh sometimes.
If you use Stir as intended, you’re limiting your pool of possible partners, intentionally, to other stressed people who have very little free time or free attention.
Hey, I may be the only one complaining/laughing online about this. But I don’t think I am, among my social circles (in real life) I know I’m not.
Now, granted, this article is here to serve a purpose, and serve it shall. Let me get back on topic, or let me, ahem, “stir the pot”, so to speak. Stirring… Stir, stir, stir.
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Enter Stir, the latest dating-app-flavoured product of Match Group, the company that basically has a monopoly on dating-app-flavoured products (Match Group owns Tinder, Match.com, Meetic, OkCupid, Hinge, BlackPeopleMeet, PlentyOfFish, Ship, Ourtime, most recently Stir, and others, totalling over 45 global companies). You’d think that they would give Bumble a chance, but it seems that Match Group doesn’t see a single match for their own services.
Stir is an app for single parents to meet/date other single parents.
Sounds simple enough, right?
Maybe even useful?
Gosh, I think I may even say it sounds better than good…
Stir sounds great at first.
Full disclosure, single or otherwise, I’m not a parent of a human (as far as I know). Maybe I’m not the right person to be writing an honest piece on Stir, but you’re still reading this, and hopefully you’re even appreciating my honest, dry, matter of fact analysis. Are you? Good, cus here’s the meat and bones of this post:
Stir seems like it’s stirred up some good ideas, without actually sitting down and figuring out how to launch the product effectively and optimally for the target market. I’ll let some of the iOS app store’s reviews speak for themselves:
“Very little functionality unless you pay an extremely high premium subscription fee. I paid $40 for 1 month just so that I could read messages that I received. I still couldn’t read the messages. In fact, not a single new feature was added to my account. I reached out to customer service via email (the only way to contact Stir), which takes 24+ hours to respond. The response didn’t even address my question or issue. It’s as if a robot responded with some standard response. I replied to the email clarifying my question, and will now have to wait 24+ hours for a response. Additionally, I have since realized that the profiles are awful, very low quality.”
“Don’t do it!
I NEVER write reviews, so this should tell you just how unhappy I am with this app.
Why is there no option for me to delete my profile complete? Why is there no way to connect with people for free? You lure single parents and then make them pay for anything that would be basic on any other site? You should be ashamed. What is this? Again, why can’t I delete my account? I should be able to remove my information without having to contact someone and wait. There is no way of knowing before signing up that you cannot delete and remove yourself from this app. Very unhappy. Just don’t bother.”
There are more… really, quite a few more reviews. Most of them are worse. I don’t know how the app has a 3.6 rating, at the time of this writing all of it’s recent reviews are one star, save one “very authentic and not remotely fishy” five star. The negative reviews all complain of the same things. Low quality profiles, “free” app that requires exorbitant fees to actually use in any meaningful capacity. Also, one review asked a question I was blown away by: why would single parents want to exclusively date other single parents?
I mean, really, I’m not a parent of a human, or even anything in the biological order of Primates yet, so maybe it’s totally going over my head.
But it sounds like, to my little childless primate brain, if you use Stir as intended, you’re limiting your pool of possible partners, intentionally, to other stressed people who have very little free time or free attention.
It sounds like you’re spending a TON of money to do that, too, and you’re already a single parent – money’s probably not something you have an enormous surplus of.
That’s about all I have to say on this matter. Make your own opinion, if you can’t adopt mine. Oh, and, read the privacy policy back to front once or twice before you decide it’s worth paying them your hard earned money to use their service. You’re already gonna be paying with your sweet, sweet, data. Why pay twice to use a service that falls short of its intended use? My advice? Brush up on talking to strangers, whenever you can. Once you know how to look someone in the eyes and really talk and listen to them, you’ll start to notice that everyone really thinks you are special, somehow. I guess it’s pretty rare nowadays. It may even help you find love, someday. At the absolute least, it won’t hurt.
Have a different experience with Stir? Please write a comment below, letting me (and other readers!) know how your experience played/is playing out!
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