The creator of a dating app for those with autism and ADHD claims to have started it because he felt “addicted” to dating.
After receiving an ADHD diagnosis at the beginning of 2021, Jamie Johnston, 34, founded Mattr, a service that is now exclusively available to residents of London.
He claimed he was dependent on the “stimuli and dopamine” that come with dating.
Mostly from east London, his app had 1,200 active users as of its one-year launch.
According to Jamie, he saw conventional dating apps as “games” in which users would “score” each other’s profiles.
“My mental health suffered greatly as a result. That kind of life gets to you after a while,” he remarked.
“Exhausting,” I became dependent on its dopamine rather than it.
It was draining, and I felt that something needed to shift. My goal was to establish an environment where users could be themselves without worrying about criticism from other users or the app itself.
“People with autism and ADHD are most likely to ghost people, delete apps, ignore messages, avoid small talk, get to the point, or be abrupt; it’s no wonder that dating apps are causing users to feel overwhelmed.”
According to Jamie, the app contains several features that were created with neurodiversity in mind.
