Why do women get flooded with messages while men get none?

Using differential equations, researchers show that the massive gender gap in who messages whom on dating apps — women flooded, men ignored — emerges from two simple ingredients: differences in response expectations and time pressure. The model finds a stable 'broken symmetry' fixed point where one gender dominates all first-contact attempts, regardless of any built-in platform bias. It suggests the lopsided dynamics of apps like Tinder are self-reinforcing by design, not just culture.