In the modern university setting, almost every college student is familiar with Tinder.
In a quest to find our own Tinderellas and Tinder Charmings, this app shows you all the single people within your 1 - 50 mile radius area who also have profiles. While we can all agree that dating is incredibly difficult in real life, Tinder takes speed dating to a whole new level.Â
With the simple slide of a finger, the application allows you to swipe right, if you're attracted to him or alternately swipe left if you find them utterly repulsive. In the event that you have mutually liked one another, it will show up as a match and you get the opportunity to message one another. Kind of like your own modern day cupid. Rather than celebrating the archaic saying of, "love at first sight," we can celebrate the millennial invention of the phrase "love at first swipe." Romantic, right?
Although Tinder is supposed to be considered a "dating app", I can't say that I agree.  Of course there are a few exceptions (a.k.a that one weird couple that you know and judge for meeting on a sketchy dating application), but you can sure as hell bet that they came up with an extremely elaborate excuse for how they met. The majority of the time, girls are on Tinder to boost their confidence with every hot guy they match with, while guys are on tinder in hope to score a 2:00 AM booty call while their other slam piece is visiting mom and dad for the weekend. Â
Don't get me wrong, I've been known to Tinder around campus here and there, but I think that Tinder's popularity is beginning to affect how guys actually hit on girls in real life. It would be a lie to say that I'm not fully aware that for the most part chivalry is a thing of the past. I'm not expecting you to be polite and "court" me, or even take me out to dinner. All I ask is for a good laugh and a couple drinks downtown. End of story. Â
Recently, I've noticed that whenever I interact with guys downtown, it seems as though they are so used to communicating through the flick of a thumb that they fail to even feign interest in real life situations. I don't remember the last time I've witnessed a random guy come up to me or any of my friends and start an interesting conversation.Â
The formula for random interactions downtown is perfect: if you take 300+ scantily clad girls, 200+ less than sober guys and cram them into a closet sized bar, at least one accidental butt-graze encounter should occur and voila! You have a conversation. Come on guys, we're asking for it. At least politely apologize for the invasion of my personal bubble. Seriously.Â
A reluctant invasion of our personal space and maybe an invitation to be beer pong partners is the most effort we'll get these days. Tinder not only undermines the whole art of spitting game, but also it creates far too many awkward situations.Â
There have been one too many times I've just sat down in class and locked eyes with a beloved tinder match. While I'm truly flattered that I have fellow classmates with impeccable taste, he's the 15th person in my communications class and it's about to get real uncomfortable, real quick. Humans by nature are social creatures. Technology shouldn't make us robots.
There's only one solution: do away with Tinder. Shut it off, sign out and get back out into the real world of dating. I'm not gonna lie, It'll be extremely difficult at first. I know. But we all have to go cold turkey. It's the only way we can spread awareness of the socially awkward epidemic that is our generation.Â
Obviously it's 2014 and technology is progressing faster than we could ever imagine. There's an app for everything, we don't even have to carry credit cards around anymore (thank you Venmo). But here's my request: can we please leave dating and flirting out of the hands of silicon valley?