Seems to me like an effortless way for them to automatically filter out terrible, shallow partners from their lives before investing anything into a relationship. What a time-saver!
I think you are missing the first half the modern male reproductive lifecycle. What you are saying increasingly applies to 30's onward (when males are looking for long term family relationships) but for the 20 somethings many are looking for these shallow, vacuous women because they often can be convinced into meaningless sex. It's a pretty sad state but it appears to be this way now.
You and I are in violent agreement on this, but... the younger generation seems more interested in 'smashing' these days than 'partner-seeking'. Can't say I was MUCH different, but I certainly wouldn't change the daily-driver tech I use just to peacock for a hot date.
Perhaps that’s more prevalent in the US and wealthier districts? I haven’t seen any of that in the UK (everyone here seems to use WhatsApp, Instagram, and Snapchat which I similarly dislike)