Grindr: The Use And Abuse Of Statistics

Police have reported a drastic rise in the number of alleged crimes involving the use of dating apps.

The number of alleged crimes reported involving the dating apps Tinder and Grindr has increased over sevenfold in two years.

The reports, obtained by the Press Association, included allegations of rape, grooming and attempted murder.

Some have suggested that the figures are only “the tip of the iceberg” as some crimes go unreported.

In 2013 there were 55 reports of crimes in England and Wales mentioning Grindr or Tinder, but that figure rose to 204 in 2014 and 412 up to October 2015.

There were 135 alleged crimes mentioning Grindr in 2015 compared to just 34 in 2013...

Pink News. 

SEVENFOLD!!!

With statistics, this is known as a 'base rate fallacy'.

How many men in the UK are on Grindr? A million plus?

How many hook-ups take place a year? Many, many millions.

Talking hysterically about rises of say 'sevenfold' or hundreds of percent when you're dealing with small figures is a popular trap the media to fall into, often willingly.

Perhaps Pink News could convert someone's chances of being a victim of crime on Grindr, per hook-up and/or per year, into a percentage and publish this figure?

A comparison with the relative dangers of other activities would be interesting and instructive.