This week, I finally caved and got on Tinder. It's been a couple of years since the dating app was introduced and I never thought I could ever get behind it. I thought Tinder was for people who either had lost all hope in the dating world or for 30 somethings who still hadn't lost their virginity.

After a couple of days on the app, I realized I could not have been more wrong about the latter. Although I'm still a little skeptical and don't plan on using it in anything but a half-joking way, I'm having a good time so far. Here a few pros and cons I have found after my first week on Tinder. 

P.S. Most of the examples in this article are coming from the guys my best friend and I have encountered this week. 

PRO: Encountering hilarious/creepy/unreal profiles. This was my way of justifying getting Tinder in the first place. I wanted to be entertained by priceless bios such as "I like to take walks at 3AM in the woods. I could be Satan, idk" and this little number: 

CON: Accidentally swiping right on said hilarious/creepy/unreal profiles and matching. Eeeeek. At least if there's a conversation you know it's going to be entertaining! The un-match feature has gotten me out of a couple of jams with uncomfortable tinder users. 

PRO: It keeps you creative. Ok, this might be a little bit of a stretch, but it's hard work being interesting to a stranger in a few message exchanges! People are constantly matching and talking on Tinder so in order for someone to keep messaging you, an interesting opening is key. As a woman, I worry about this a little bit less since it is usually the guys who will message first and set the tone for the rest of the conversation. Nonetheless, coming up with witty or alluring responses to "how ya been hot stuff" or "dayum lil mama, cute hair" can be taxing. 

CON: The idea of swiping right/left based on looks. I mean I could make the argument that it's not all about looks, people can have bios and the conversation aspect of Tinder matches personality. BUT, it's not all that common for people to bother to looking at the bios of people with unattractive photos. It's pretty messed up. 

PRO: Random ego boosting compliments from complete strangers. Men don't talk to women the way they used to...except on Tinder. It's surprising how cocky I actually feel after seeing messages that say "you have nice eyes" or "I really like talking to you, and not only because you're pretty" even though you can't really see my eyes in any of my photos and I've only exchanged maximum 5 messages with most of the people I've talked to. I don't care. It feels good to be loved on Tinder. 

CON: The occasional creepy sexual comments from complete strangers. When guys open up conversations on Tinder with a sexual pickup line it's just a huge let down. C'mon... you're better than this. However, they're usually funny enough to screenshot and send to all your friends or at least have a good laugh. Once you get past thinking that an actual creepy guy sent the message, this can be really funny. 

PRO: Having funny encounters with people you already know. My favorite part of Tinder so far has been talking to people I already know. Granted, I'm not trying to date or hook up with any of them-- which I know is kind of the point of Tinder-- but, in the stressful work environment on Wake Forest campus during the week, it's nice to talk to someone you wouldn't normally run into.