Beyond Praise: The Interactional Work of Compliments in Tinder Chats (A Conversation Analysis).
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2025-07-10
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en
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This study examines how compliments are used, what they accomplish, and how they are
responded to in Tinder chat interactions. Using Conversation Analysis (CA), the study analyzes
post-match chats of 7 Dutch Tinder users. Findings show that compliments often function as initiating actions, launching conversations, or redirecting them at key moments. These
initiating actions were frequently implemented as first pair parts, designed to elicit a response
and sustain the interaction. Many are embedded in multi-action posts, strategically designed to
prompt further interaction and potentially reduce the likelihood of ghosting. Compliments also
appear as responsive actions, often in answer to prompts like “Why did you like me?”, and tend
to target appearance-related features inferred from profiles. Responses to compliments reveal
a preference for modesty: users frequently deflect praise or downgrade their achievements,
echoing established patterns in face-to-face interaction. However, the Tinder context
introduces medium-specific dynamics: asynchronous timing, the selective use of emojis, and the reliance on limited profile cues shape how compliments are delivered, interpreted, and sometimes left unacknowledged.
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