I have finally decided to set myself free. I’m free from all the assholes who I've swiped right on and I’m free from all the pressure and anxiety matching on Tinder has caused me. It was incredibly fun to look at hot guys and swipe right, but dealing with the crazies was not. I never took Tinder seriously; for me, it was mostly to get random silly compliments because I’m clearly thirsty for some attention and to talk to anyone, even if they couldn’t hold a simple conversation. Unfortunately, most of them couldn’t hold a conversation so I’m officially calling it quits on the modern way of “dating,” or shall I say online hook-ups.
The first few hours after you delete your tinder there's a sense of relief, you’re no longer checking your phone every minute and you can find some peace from that. You’ll also wind up loving yourself a thousand times more for not giving a shit and taking your singledom with pride. It’s a great feeling- you’re now forcing yourself to meet people in the real world. Real people, with real feelings, with whom you can hopefully really communicate with and have a real relationship. What can sound more perfect than that?
Not only was there an overwhelming sense of relief and self-love with my actions but I was also secretly pissed off at myself. I was mad that I wasted my time talking to straight up assholes when I could’ve been searching for a solid guy. I was also mad that I decided to call it quits right before Valentine's Day which means that I have about a week to magically find myself a suitable guy. It’s most definitely a challenge but I hope to put my charm and incredibly boring art knowledge to use.
Am I tempted to revisit the app store and download it again? Yes, every minute! I’m so bored with my life that I’ve come to the realization of how much Tinder provided me with entertainment. Swiping left and right every day was genuinely the only form of exercise that my fingers participated in. Now, I simply stare at my screen and revert to the endless memes on Instagram for my entertainment.
It’s easy to talk to a person through the protection of your phone screen, and when it comes to speaking to strangers I have no problem with that; I make the most random conversations with the most random people on the subway. But I don’t take that seriously either. Sure, let's talk about Trump’s presidency while I ride the subway for two stops, but how am I going to build the courage to an extremely sexy guy on the subway? I’d be much too intimidated by his good looks that I’ll embarrass myself.
For now, this may just be another experiment I’ve made up and with no other choice, forced myself to participate in. This could last another week, a few months or maybe even forever. There’s one thing that I know for sure, I feel liberated from the societal expectations of online dating and hooking up. It’s a great feeling and I’m not pressured to meet up with strangers, I’m finally free and I get to enjoy this period.
