Abstract:

Mobile flirt apps, which have become an important part of everyday life, continue to rapidly change the nature of romantic relationships. While some interpret mobile flirting applications as “love’s breakdown”, some see the profound change and transformation of these forms of flirting as one of the inevitable consequences of the digital world. The aim of this study is to reveal the relationship between the influence of technological developments and the changes in the ways of flirting in gender relationships and consumption. In this context, the literature on the meaning and change of romantic relationships on a historic level has been reviewed, and the opportunities that geographical location-based flirt applications create for the advertising industry have been evaluated. In the framework of the link of postmodern romantic relationships, digital lifestyle, culture and consumption, the mobile flirt app Tinder, one of the most popular among location-based social networking applications, has been studied by the method of qualitative and quantitative content analysis.  As a result, advertising messages are largely marked with meanings and symbols related to luxury and symbolic consumption, but the brands have not developed advertising strategies compatible with their geographical location. The obtained data also reveals that advertisements published on Tinder, which is a global trend and highlights short-term relationships, include meaning and symbols that re-create traditional romantic relationships.

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