u/FirmConcentrate2962

In an age of omnipresent virtual comparison, balding is a condition that many men would not want to endure for anything in the world - despite all the studies suggesting that such a radical intervention can have such a significant impact on one of the most characteristic male hormones, affecting presence, emotional well-being, libido and even cognitive abilities.

Given the increasing prevalence of finasteride (from celebrities, politicians and high achievers right down to the average Joe), surely a whole generation of men must be emerging who have to face life with a (sometimes conscious, sometimes less conscious, sometimes painstakingly ignored) disadvantage, less able to survive, perform and exist in a world where even DHT must have a raison d’être, however emergent and subtle it may be.

My question are: Are we going to be faced with a pandemic of ‘finasteride men’? Will there be a statistically measurable decline in performance in our society - a dip in performance - and can bald(-ing) men in particular benefit from this?

Or even asked provocatively: Will a full head of hair in progressed age soon be associated with this decline in performance, whilst a bald head will be seen as a sign of high competence and masculinity?

I mean, I get it - Nassim had a lot of cultural capital early on; he was born into an influential family, went to an Ivy League university, and worked on Wall Street. But when did he say to himself, “Okay, I’ve had enough of wealth - now I’m going to spend several hours a day poring over books and writing my own”?

I say this without any bitterness, but every attractive man with options that I know would never go along with that. And the rest who would go along with these demands must be doing so - for whatever reason. So the question is whether such demands don’t ultimately filter out exactly the kind of people you’d actually like to avoid for a relationship or hook up. 

At the same time, I feel sorry for men who get involved in this kind of thing. But, guys: this market exists, because you’re serving it - and that’s why it even keeps getting bigger.

I’m really struggling to understand how these dating app algorithms work.

Hinge: I’ve been on it for two months. In the first few weeks, I was getting over 20 likes (plus roses) per day. My 8-chat limit was basically full the entire time. But honestly, nothing came out of those conversations. There were some very attractive but very weird people - and to be fair, I was overwhelmed and spoiled by the flood of attractive options, so I did my fair share of ghosting. Fast forward to the last two weeks: it’s a complete drought. Barely any matches. Conversations died.

Bumble: Started off strong with a lot of great matches and dates. Now only occasional likes from people who are totally not my type. On the rare occasion I get a suspiciously good match, they either don't text or instantly unmatch.

Tinder: I've had my profile for two years. For the longest time, I'd get about one solid like per week. Then, out of nowhere, I got flooded with great likes for three weeks straight. Since then, it’s been completely dead.

Raya: Great matches and great likes, but everyone lives on the other side of the world. Plus, my account randomly got deactivated.

My conclusion...well, on paper, my profile can’t be that bad, right? But at the same time, I’m wondering: why the sudden drought? And why all these low-quality matches who can barely hold a conversation?

Sometimes I genuinely feel like these apps are punishing me because I don't bend over backward to charm people when it’s completely obvious we are incompatible (e.g., the salsa girl who insisted on a first date at a reggaeton club, or the gorgeous far-right princess who fundamentally disagreed with all my views, women who don't ask questions...).

Has anyone else experienced this exact cycle? Is the algorithm just trying to force me into buying premium, or am I doing something wrong?

I’m in a bit of a specific iCloud pickle and need some expert eyes on my planned workaround.

The Situation: I just bought a brand-new iPhone (a lot of bucks down the drain, feels great but terrifying). And I have two iCloud-Accounts:

A (Main): My actual Apple ID. Contains all my photos, contacts, passwords, and

B (The Burner): A new iCloud account on an old iPhone I use to escape the Hinge ban. My way to bypass the hardware/Apple ID ban.

Obviously, Apple doesn't allow merging two iCloud accounts. I want all my data from Account A on my new shiny iPhone, but I also don’t want to lose my working Hinge profile.

Since I can't merge them, I'm thinking about setting up the new iPhone like this:

1. Log into the new iPhone using Account A (Main) so all my actual life, photos, and backups sync over perfectly.

2. Go to Settings -> [My Name] -> Media & Purchases, log out of Account A for the App Store, and log into Account B (The Burner).

3. Download Hinge through Account B.

4. Use a completely separate eSIM/number for Hinge and block contact syncing.

Will this actually work to keep Hinge separated, or is Hinge's device-fingerprinting so aggressive that it will detect my main iCloud account details anyway and ban my new phone instantly? Or is it safer to just bite the bullet and keep carrying two phones around (old one strictly for Hinge, new one for everything else)?

Would love to hear if anyone has successfully pulled off this kind of App Store / iCloud split-screen life without triggering a ban. Thanks!

I was on Raya for a long time - lots of matches, lots of chats. I logged out every now and then because I wanted to take a break from it (and the monthly fee) for a few months. It’s never been a problem before.

I wanted to get back on Raya last week - and boom, I’m on the waitlist. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Did they kick me off?