This all matches my experience. As a man over 40 in a small European country, I have a vastly different experience on Hinge (another of the Match Group products) than other people report.
Also, I noticed that I am getting always more attention when I keep conversations going with at least 2 other users. My guess is that factors that maximize time_on_app are being favored by the algo and the match with me being one means that I am proposed in the highlights etc.