The scene described in Nancy Jo Sales’s huge Tinder report published in Vanity Fair magazine featured groups of twenty-something friends and colleagues in a Manhattan bar relaxing after work. But rather than socialising with each other they were engrossed in the more private world of their mobile phones, seeking something completely personal: a sexual partner (albeit not necessarily just for sex).

South African online classified websites were this week overflowing with post-Christmas offers to sell various goods. It was however unclear if they were unwanted gifts or attempts to make up for festive season overspending.