How Tinder grew up

Once upon a time, if you mentioned Tinder in polite company you'd have been met with a couple of sharply raised eyebrows. Since it launched nearly five years ago in the US, the infamous dating app, with its brutal 'swipe right if you like it' philosophy, fast became synonymous with hook-up culture and quickly cemented its reputation as the app of choice for Millennials seeking nothing more than a quick fling.

Venerable US publication Vanity Fair even ran an article in 2016 called 'Tinder and the Dawn of the Dating Apocalypse', so suffice to say, if you were in the market for something a bit more substantial — flowers and dinner or maybe even a second date — then Tinder wasn't for you.

But how times have changed. Today, the dating app has evolved to become a key port of call for singles looking for romance. As the age profile of users has increased — more than 40pc are now over 25 — so too has the prospect of finding a long-term relationship... or at least something more substantial than a one-night-stand.

Just ask Today FM presenter Paula MacSweeney. Sick of being single, the 31-year-old DJ decided to download Tinder to her smartphone in order to land a date. She ended up bagging a husband instead. She'll marry Aidan Donnelly next year and she's made no secret of the fact that it all started with a swipe.

"Before I met Aidan I had been single maybe three years," she says. "I'd go on [Tinder] and I'd have a few dates, and I'd get frustrated and I'd delete it for a while, then I'd go back...