letters

Comments: Week of August 15, 2022

1.

“Ten Years of Re-Re-Re-Re-Downloading Tinder,” August 1–14

Photo: New York Magazine

New York’s latest issue explored the ways dating apps have transformed sex and romance in the decade since Tinder hit the scene. The series of stories featured Allison P. Davis on her own long-standing relationship with the apps. Journalist Roxanne Khamsi tweeted, “There’s a lot of talk about how technology changes our behavior but no article has captured the profound effects of dating apps—and how they sabotage human connections—as well.” Oli Franklin-Wallis commented, “This! Is! Writing! @AllisonPDavis making me so glad that I missed out on Tinder and married so young people (single, unhappy people, mostly) mock me for it.” Editor-in-chief of The Atavist Magazine Seyward Darby tweeted, “A recurring nightmare of mine is that my husband doesn’t exist and I have to get on Tinder … The anxiety of downloading the app is the climax of the dream.” The Guardian’s Alyx Gorman wrote, “It’s worth carving out the time to read @AllisonPDavis on Tinder in full. The ending is a sucker-punch,” while T. Darr added, “​Between the ex who ‘stoically chugged his negroni’ and the guy who yelled ‘That’s sick!’ at the point of orgasm, this is one of the funniest, most honest pieces of writing I’ve read in a while.” The issue also explored Tinder’s most definitive cultural consequences. In response to Rachel Connolly’s assessment of the ethics of ghosting, @VibeGuy666 wrote, “The situations I feel worst about are the [ones] where I’ve been too much of a coward to be the ‘bad guy’ and risk social friction. I think it’s generally been worse than just doing someone the courtesy of telling them I’m not interested.”

Photo: New York Magazine

2.

“60 Days to Find a Not-Horrible Apartment,” August 1–14

Emily Gould documented two months of navigating an increasingly volatile housing market. Editor-in-chief of Slate Hillary Frey wrote, “Already riveted. This cliffhanging series will pull me away from Scandi-noir!” Dan Wilbur tweeted, “A harrowing saga that I can only assume will get worse when the lease renewal drops. A lot of people are going through this in NYC right now!” The New Yorker’s Clare Malone added, “As a person in search of a mythical non-shitty 3 bedroom BK apartment, it was the real estate hunt that spoke to me most re the fate of the sad young literary man. Also, if you have a pocket listing, holler (the real reason for this tweet sorry not sorry).” @nolongerabashed wrote, “Incredibly funny and painful and making me grateful to not be looking for a place to live. Follow along and keep our collective fingers crossed for @EmilyGould and her gang.” Writer Porochista Khakpour noted, however, “There is so much affordable housing in super nice parts of Queens today! This made me sad but I really feel like only people wanting Brooklyn & Manhattan are going thru this stress these days!”

3.

“The Making of Silent Bruce,” August 1–14

Matt Zoller Seitz wrote about how Bruce Willis’s stoic persona might have masked his real-life struggle with aphasia. @SailorSoapbox called it “a heartbreaking read. I hadn’t realized how much I cherished the rapid-talking roles of Willis’s early career until this article documented the chronology of him gradually speaking less and less.” The Atlantic’s Christopher Orr wrote, “Sad, terrific piece by @mattzollerseitz in @NYMag on Bruce Willis’s cognitive decline due to aphasia, and on the degree to which it may have been hidden by his role shift from fast-talking charmers to nearly mute assassins.” But @StPaulHawk responded, “I don’t like this attempt to take away Bruce’s self determination. There’s a strong element of disrespect here for a dude who did nothing wrong but get old. Sure, maybe he did roles the author liked less but who cares? He kept working like he wanted to.” Others took issue with how Willis’s aphasia was characterized. @MsResistFL asked, “Curious: Did you consult with MDs and aphasia patients for this piece? Aphasia doesn’t cause cognitive decline, though it can be a symptom of other neurological disease. It’s an issue with language processing, not intelligence.” @ge_ki_tsu noted, “this was beautifully written. and it stings to read. big *sigh* at the lack of reading comprehension that makes people comment that it’s a ‘hit piece’ though,” and the writer of the Proteautype Substack, Adam Proteau, added, “A very good piece indeed. A real-life tragedy.”

Send correspondence to [email protected]. Or go to nymag.com to respond to individual stories.

Comments: Week of August 15, 2022