Singapore hopes government app will solve the birth rate issue
Last week, the government-developed dating app "Firstdate" was launched for Singaporean civil servants aged 21 to 35, the BBC reports. The app is one of a series of measures aimed at boosting the city-state's extremely low birth rate.
Employees log in to the app using Singapore’s version of mobile digital ID and then complete a questionnaire about their interests, habits, and values. The developers have utilized the Nobel Prize-winning Gale-Shapley algorithm from the 1960s, which matches people based on their preferences.
The app has met with mixed reactions among the public; some describe it as interesting, while others call it "dystopian."
"But it’s reassuring to know that the likelihood of being scammed is much lower. After all, we’re all civil servants looking for a partner, aren't we?" says 29-year-old Elizabeth, who works at the Ministry of Defence.
Singles mock the app: "State-assigned spouses"
Opinions are divided among Singapore’s residents following the launch of the government-developed dating app Firstdate, Al Jazeera reports. Like many East Asian countries, the city-state faces widespread loneliness and low birth rates.
Civil servant Nur Aisyah, 30, takes a positive view. She finds traditional apps like Tinder and Bumble "horrible" and signed up for Firstdate out of curiosity.
"I’m approaching it with a 'Why not?' attitude." Regardless, it would make for quite an amusing story if it actually led to something.
The initiative has been mocked on social media, with users describing it as the state providing residents with "government-assigned spouses." Jamie, a school employee, agrees with the criticism and doubts the app will work.
"Our social skills have deteriorated. I’m so exhausted after work that I just want to go home and lie down," she says.
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