I know dating apps aren't what they used to be. But does that means you should give up?
Have you ever competed on a professional level as an amateur? Chess, poker, sports, etc. I have and got my ass handed too me. But guess what I went to work and improved my situation. Eventually I made it to the semi pro level in a few things.
How would that work with diminishing returns? Games follow rules. With dating, it could appear the goal-posts themselves keep moving. If you look at
@BergischerLöwe posts, for example, he used the dating apps in the past, had some limited success, and now the ROI is worst, and he's getting worst results now than before (no matches or way worst matches then before if he does get them). He had all the time to learn how to improve any dating app game and should operating as a pro. What would you think the issue is on his case?
You also have veteran posters like
@SW15 that cry down online dating for normies, and you have very masculine posters like
@AmsterdamAssassin, who by their own admission, do not use dating apps because the ROI is not worth it ot him.
So I don't think it is as simple as an argument as you are presenting.
Now, if you were to say, give up on apps and just deal with women IRL, cold-approach, etc... then that would be another story. However, that depends on the individual and how much time they have to potential use since these are extremely time consuming activities, and honestly is no fun, especially if you get blown off, rejected and ignored. Even getting paid to do something that is not fun is hard in its own right. If you don't need the money badly enough, you'd quit that job.