OK, so you may have been on Tinder for a while now, or you maybe haven't even downloaded the app. Either way, you know what Tinder is. You may also know that it is most certainly used for hookups, more than anything. It is also used out of sheer boredom.
I myself hopped on board due to the latter. I was heartbroken, upset, and in constant need of the validation of knowing that people wanted me... people other than my family, of course. I had been in a very toxic relationship, and only had a few friends left — all of whom encouraged me to download the very app I had been avoiding since I began dating.
So I opened the app.
First thing's first, you build your profile. You set your photos, and your bio, as well as link your Instagram and Spotify so people can really get to know you. I kid you not, I spent hours on the stupid app perfecting my photos, updating them, re-editing, and re-uploading. It was a never-ending cycle.
The first night, I had no matches, but it was also 3 a.m. and I was feeling very lonely. But I checked it into my day, at about eleven or twelve, and I had matches! I had several!
Not going to lie, when the messages started coming in, it was definitely the biggest self-esteem boost.
But people were so sketchy, so I decided immediately I was not going to meet up with anyone from Tinder, and I was going to see what would happen if I continued to swipe through people and have the most basic conversations.
Most of them were pretty basic, but there were some guys here and there who wanted a meaningful conversation, and it didn't look like they just wanted a hookup.
I swiped right on one guy that I had kind of recognized through years of following him on Instagram, and we matched instantly, so I decided to shoot him a message, which was pretty unlike me. He replied, and we had a really nice and genuine conversation.
Eventually moving off the app into text message, the genuine conversation continued, and eventually we decided we were going to meet up for a date, which was against the rules that I set for myself.
Friday night came, and I was to see the show he was performing in and then meet him at the local bowling alley/restaurant right afterward. We met up, and the date went absolutely amazing. We ate, went bowling (in the V.I.P. lanes, I must add) — he was a very nice guy. After that, we went back to his car, and we listened to music and sang to musical theatre. Best date ever.
That boy is now my boyfriend, and It has been almost a year now, which I am so thankful for.
But that's what I've found out. Even though Tinder is more of a hookup app, you don't have to use it to hookup. There are genuinely good people on the app, looking for the few other good people on it as well.
So be that. Be the good person on Tinder, find the love of your life.
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