I didn't always hate Tinder. I mean, I never really liked it, but I hadn't tried it. And you know what they say, you never really know until you try. I went into this week-long self-proclaimed "Tinder Challenge" optimistic, as I do with most things.

Let me give you a little background on myself. I've been single for a couple of months, but I've honestly never cared less about that fact in my life. I actually enjoy being single. But I'm home and I have a lot of free time on my hands, so I thought I'd give it a try.

To my surprise, I didn't even have to make a profile or anything-it already pulled my information off of Facebook. I did put a good bit of effort in editing my profile before I started all this swiping I'd been hearing so much about. Turns out, the actual swiping is not as easy as it seems. If you click on their profile, the swiping method changes. Just a little advice, in case you try Tinder.

That made me think that most people don't actually take the time to look at the profiles, just the one profile picture and a name to decide whether you like this person or not. So that was stressful, but I chose this as the one picture to win them all:

With swiping techniques and profile in-tact, I started my journey through the magical world of Tinder. And at first, it did feel quite magical. I mean, how many people wouldn't want a basically limitless number of eligible guys at their fingertips, only a right swipe away? At first I felt like the Bachelorette.

But then I actually started to connect with people. Which means it was no longer just about looking at pictures or reading (sometimes) cleverly-worded descriptions, but I actually had to think of something to say to start a conversation. Surprisingly, "hi" worked a lot more than the creative introductions, but the best conversations were the ones that we started talking about something they already knew we were both interested in. So if you do insist on using Tinder, read the profiles.

Though a lot of the conversations never became super riveting, mostly small-talk until one of us didn't reply, I only had one bad conversation and several really good ones. And by bad, I mean that repeatedly told me about how big his material is. So, that ended pretty quickly. Another thing you should know about me-I'm a Christian and I'm saving myself for marriage. So anything like that comes up in conversation and I have a tendency to...

The good thing about Tinder is you can just ghost on people when a conversation goes south.

But is that really a good thing, though? Is the fact that one online conversation, one picture even, is enough for us to decide whether we are willing to pursue a relationship (or whatever you're on Tinder to pursue)?

As a culture, we are just online more. I mean even by reading this article, you have to be online. You probably even found this article over social media. It's safe to say we are becoming addicted to social media. That is a rant for a different day, but it is that addiction for instant gratification and constant awareness of the world around us that drives app like Tinder to the "Essentials" category on iTunes.

We want things quickly and we want things our way. Neither of these is a good basis when it comes to forming a relationship with another human being, especially one that may even last a lifetime. Tinder highlights everything superficial about a relationship, from the standard "swipe right, swipe left" method that makes it possible to choose a person within seconds.

That is primarily why I dislike Tinder. It lessens the experience of love to swiping and superficial profiles. instead of the uniquely glorious experience it's meant to be, the experience I hope it to be someday for me and for you, dear reader.

I deleted Tinder at the end of the week, about 2 hours before reviewing my experience and writing it all down. It's been the most relaxed two hours of my week.

If you have Tinder and were offended in any way by what I said, I apologize. I'm not writing this to demean you or criticize you for your choice to use Tinder. I understand what it's like to crave love so badly you are willing to try every possible means. Friend, I've been there. And, maybe that's not it at all what Tinder means to you. This is just my personal take on the matter, it could mean something else entirely to you. And, I'm not saying it's impossible to meet good guys on Tinder. I talked to several good guys this past week, a few who I am still in contact with. It's not the guys of Tinder I'm against, just the culture Tinder produces itself.