The first time I was introduced to the Tinder app, I was studying abroad. For this reason, I was tricked into thinking this app transcends the average matchmaking tech on the market... Nope.
I've always liked the name Tinder, though. I thought it was clever and cute that I was trying to "start a fire" of love. If only Tinder was named, You're Going to Hate Yourself, I could have saved myself the hours (and hours) of swiping left and right looking for the one.
I cannot speak for the mass of people who occupy Tinder, but I imagine not everyone has the "I'm here for sex" (Said in a caveman voice) attitude. There has to be those who search like I do for someone nice to talk to-who wants to talk about interesting topics and share stories from similar and dissimilar walks of life... And then fall in love; because otherwise, what's the point, right?
I go to college in a small town, so I always see people I know on Tinder. I'll do the whole, "Hey! They're lonely like me, too!" But then I remember they can potentially see me on Tinder too. So then I quickly swipe left.
So who do I swipe right on? After a while of swiping left with slow calculation, I become frustrated that the love of my life hasn’t popped up yet. So I just start swiping left as fast as I can thinking if I see the one I’ll be able to stop in time. Wrong. After a good twenty swipes left, I see her. The one with long curly brown hair and big eyes. Looking past the obvious problem that I’m picking my soul mate based solely on looks, I panic as I accidentally swipe left on THE ONE. I try to go back to her profile, but Tinder tells me I have to pay extra to go back; so instead I begin to mourn—even true love isn’t worth upgrading Tinder.
But now! Tinder has introduced the Super Like option. Now I can make sure my soul mate (who surprisingly is a new girl every half hour if you don’t see the pattern yet) sees that I’ve found her at last. But the Super Like—so full of power. Is this girl worth a Super Like? Is any girl worth a Super Like? I search meticulously through their profiles: Do these pictures all seem to look like the same girl? Does her bio make her seem funny, intelligent, etc.? Is the profile real? (I’ve been tricked about local, hot singles in my area before).
At the heart of Tinder, I don’t think it’s such a grimy place. Yes, there’s the cavemen prowling for nothing more than a hookup; but the rest of us are there too—combing profiles and starting up conversation with strangers the only way we know how (because most of us have social anxiety).
Congrats to anyone that has found a special connection on Tinder. For the rest of us, we’ll keep swiping left.
