Overview

• Researchers applied directed two‐mode social network analysis to July 2017 swiping data from 2,321 users in Prague and 624 in Brno.
• The data formed a desirability hierarchy in which women ranked higher on average due to a surplus of male users.
• Men frequently sent swipes toward higher‐ranked women, whereas women tended to pursue men with similar desirability scores.
• Mutual matches predominantly occurred between users with comparable desirability, largely because more desirable individuals rejected lower‐ranked suitors.
• The results underscore women’s stronger bargaining power in the online dating market and show that rejection dynamics, rather than initial preference for similarity, shape match outcomes.