Watch Swiped

Swiped (2018) is a dramedy movie that explores the dating culture among college students with the use of dating apps. Directed by Ann Deborah Fishman and starring newcomers Kendall Ryan Sanders, Noah Centineo, and Nathan Gamble, the film follows the story of James Singer (Sanders) and his friends Lance Black (Centineo) and Dave Johnson (Gamble), who create a dating app called Jungle with the intention of getting rich and popular at their university.

James Singer, the main character, is an intelligent but socially awkward computer science student who has a crush on his classmate Amber (Lea Wilson). One day, James discovers that Amber is using a popular dating app called Swiper and believes that he can create a better one. Together with Lance and Dave, who are both business and marketing savvy and have a reputation for being popular with girls, they create Jungle, a dating app that allows users to swipe past their matches based on photos and short descriptions of their personalities.

Initially, Jungle is a hit with the students and James, Lance, and Dave become the talk of the campus. However, as they become increasingly obsessed with their success and popularity, they lose sight of their original intentions and the consequences of their actions. They quickly realize that Jungle's algorithm is flawed and they have created a superficial dating app that caters to shallow behaviors, such as ignoring people with different interests or appearances. Additionally, they have unknowingly created a platform that facilitates cheating, catfishing, and manipulative behavior.

As Jungle's popularity grows, the three friends' relationships with each other and those around them begin to deteriorate. James becomes increasingly disillusioned with the app and his friends, who disregard his ethical concerns and push him aside when he questions their behavior. Lance becomes arrogant, reckless and self-centered, using Jungle to fuel his ego and hook up with multiple girls without regard for their emotions. Dave, who is deeply in love with his girlfriend Emily (Kaitlyn Clare), becomes caught up in the app craze and his own insecurities, ultimately leading to a devastating mistake.

As the consequences of their actions slowly become clear, the three friends are forced to face the harsh reality of their app's impact on their peers' mental health, relationships, and self-esteem. They find themselves being judged and ostracized by their peers, while James tries to make amends for his involvement in the app and the damage it caused. He starts working on a new project with Amber, hoping to make a difference in the dating world with a more meaningful and ethical platform.

Overall, Swiped is a thought-provoking movie that delves into the themes of youth, dating culture, and the negative impacts of technology on human relationships. It showcases the dangers of creating superficial apps that cater to instant gratification, and how it can have wider implications and consequences beyond just the individual. The film suggests that the solution to the problems caused by dating apps is to create platforms that promote genuine connections and true self-expression. Swiped is a cautionary tale of the dangers of sacrificing ethics and empathy for the sake of popularity and profit, and highlights the importance of personal responsibility in technology development.

Swiped is a 2018 comedy with a runtime of 1 hour and 33 minutes. It has received mostly poor reviews from critics and viewers, who have given it an IMDb score of 2.8.