By Matthew Clark, A&E Editor
“Single, not sorry,” as Tinder proclaims. An interesting and charming gesture which finally pulled me in a few weeks ago. I jested about downloading it countless times, but it wasn’t until I sat down to actually create my bio that I thought “What am I doing with my life?”
Though I have not yet been brave enough to go on a date, this online romantic venture has provided some wisdom and amusement for sure.
I learned the ways of the modern romantic world. I evaluated the methods of flirtation. I saw the excess of loneliness and desperation. I found how people cope with such heavy concepts.
Upon entering Tinder for the first time, it became obvious that this would be a platform for fun—certainly not true love.
The idea is delightfully quaint. You slap on some pictures, write up a decent bio and start swiping to eventually find a match that may engage in a conversation.
Crafting a profile is simple; getting people to talk to you—well, that depends.
There are various methods to promoting right swipes and prompting conversation, but I decided to just be myself. An uncommon opinion perhaps, but if someone doesn’t like you for who you are, why bother?
Surprisingly, with some time, this worked quite well.
Now I had some genuine and fun-loving people to talk to! All I had to do was message them and enjoy socializing with new people.
Or they don’t respond, at all. That’s fine though.
Repeating this process a few days longer, I finally ran into some individuals who actually desired to carry on a conversation.
It seems that overall, people respond well to a brief yet enthusiastic statement that includes their name.
Such an introduction may lead to pleasantries and topics of interest. These pieces of small talk may lead to common ground, thus giving the opportunity of an actual date.
The alternative to this could be something such as exchanging numbers or connecting on Snapchat. If no romantic relationship forms, I do truly believe that many friends can be made this way.
But, what do I think about this dating app as a whole?
Well, honestly, it’s conceptually clever and socially scintillating, but this is definitely more for people who are “here for a fun time, not a long time.”
As I mentioned previously, this is not an app for true love (though there are exceptions in everything), and it should not be used to fill some sort of void within.
However, it is a fun supplement to your more ordinary social interactions.
I always enjoy hearing the cheerful “brring!” of the app, signaling potential for new relationships or an especially eventful conversation.
Afterall, life is simply better with that spark of socialization and the warmth of a heart beside you.
