So TL;DR:<p>Uncertain reply-time-window dynamics enabled by the era of asynchronous&#x2F;deferred indirect communication (aka &quot;texting&quot;&#x2F;&quot;emailing&quot;) create a situation where the psychological principles of the Variable Ratio Reinforcement Schedule (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Reinforcement" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Reinforcement</a>) kick in, which, as it turns out, is the most addicting, thus creating the most drama.<p>I get that about right? ;)<p>Word to the wise (single men): Online dating apps put much more power into the hands of women than men. If you want to score something &quot;out of your league,&quot; you&#x27;re going to have to take a walk out of the ballpark, and get your hands dirty in the real world with some face-to-face time. Uncoincidentally, this takes advantage of <i>another</i> psychological principle, Repeated Proximity Breeds Attraction (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Mere-exposure_effect" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;en.wikipedia.org&#x2F;wiki&#x2F;Mere-exposure_effect</a>)