Oh, the wonderful world of Tinder -- where just one swipe can determine your destiny with love and romance!
As much as I hate to admit it, I had a Tinder profile myself (had being the key word here). Don't get me wrong, there is absolutely nothing wrong with having Tinder or using any type of dating app out there. I have known people to even marry the person they met on Tinder. But, if we're all being honest with each other here, how often does a Tinder swipe lead to marriage? Well, I'll get personal here - for me, it lead to zero chances of marriage, zero dates, and about 1000 pictures that I never wanted to receive from strangers in the first place.
After talking with some friends about the frustrations of online dating, specifically Tinder, I found that many of their frustrations were similar to mine.
1. Tinder is giving us false hope of ever finding the one.
The more I thought about this, the more I realized that this statement is unfortunately pretty true. As I said, there aren't many times that people can successfully say that they met someone from Tinder and made a good lasting relationship with him or her. (Disclaimer: I could be misinformed here, but in my personal life, this seems to be true.) Tinder, unfortunately, has become the place you don't come to if you're looking for a boyfriend or girlfriend -- which leads me to my next point.
2. Tinder isn't for dating - Netflix and chill, anyone?
If you're totally okay with the "no strings attached" approach to dating, then maybe your swipe right matches are perfect for you. But for anyone like myself, who genuinely wants a stable relationship with another person, this form of "dating" isn't going to work. Most of us aren't looking for someone to simply "chill" with. We want substance, not someone who is going to ask us two seconds into conversation if we "want to come over and hang out?" or God forbid they get brave enough to send us a picture ... my next point.
3. What is with the unwanted pictures?
More times than none the conversations (if you can even call them that) with the guys I have matched with on Tinder have ended with either them wanting to send me a picture of their member that I honestly couldn't care less about or as noted previously, them wanting to "hang out." Please, guys (and girls if this applies to you, which I'm sure it will for some), don't send people personal pictures of yourself - you never know what those people are going to do with your private pictures. And if you don't want me to immediately think you're a douche, don't ask me to "hang out" when we've talked for a total of three minutes - we all know what kind of hanging out you want to do. Stay classy, my friends.
4. I'm not going to pay for mediocre results.
Many people utilize Tinder for the simple fact that you can use the app without having to pay (unless you really want to). For other sites like eHarmony or Match, you have to pay to use the site but you also fill out a profile about yourself that asks you questions about your hobbies and what you're looking for in a significant other. Tinder doesn't do that -- it gives you an empty box that basically says, "write a joke here if you'd like" or at least that's what it seems like from all the comedians you find on Tinder. I think that right there proves that either 1) Tinder wants you to put the work in to get to know someone (highly unlikely) or 2) Tinder was never designed to be an in-depth dating app.
5. The moral of the story is ...
Someone once told me, "If you're looking for love babe, you ain't gonna find it on Tinder." I applaud those who have been able to make lasting relationships with men and women they've met on Tinder but I, unfortunately, like many others, am not a part of that group and try as I might, I just don't think it's going to be the place I find my one true love. But hey, who am I to tell you it's a waste of time? If you enjoy it, keep doing your thing but as for me, I'm out (like, "profile deleted and app uninstalled" out). Don't become discouraged if you don't find the one on Tinder -- get out and enjoy yourself. You're more likely to find someone of genuine interest to you while you're out doing something you love!
