Ruben Martinez Jr.

i had no idea that hinge launched these badges until someone asked me about them during a dinner convo i was having tonight. but having looked at them now i actually think these are going to do the exact opposite of their intended behavior. essentially hinge is trying to solve for engagement quality here, but the badge reveals effort, & in dating markets effort is precisely what you want to conceal. it’s a signal pointed in the wrong direction because you’re advertising your labor rather than your surplus. also the badge kinda creates a trap. the ppl most likely to earn it are either genuinely diligent or optimizing for the metric. but the ppl with the most options don’t need to message every match or review every like cuz they’re already overwhelmed. so the badge structurally selects against abundance. it’s an involuntary confession of your position in the market. they’re effectively trying to make a cooperation badge in what is fundamentally a competition environment. the behavioral norms they’re rewarding (thoughtfulness, follow through, etc) are prosocial norms that dating markets ruthlessly punish once you have leverage. so the badge basically says “i play by the rules in a game where the winners break them.” kinda funny. idk if hinge’s product team grasps this or if they’re just optimizing retention metrics & accidentally built a mechanism that sorts users by desperation. probably the latter tbh. anyway, if you love game design & incentive design in products like i do these are fascinating dynamics to think about.