Sure You Want To Swipe Him?

Oh good old dating apps – the fastest way to find your next partner with convenience at heart. It all sounds so easy! We are all so obsessed with finding the perfect person and with technology, it’s the ideal combo. Initially, dating apps were introduced as a revolutionary tool for those looking for love. But somewhere down the line they ended up being the new way for enticing the loveless.

Tinder was the first app created, where you swipe your way to the ideal mate – caution appearances certainly do matter. Happn came onto the scene next – the fantasy of bumping into a stranger turned into a virtual setting using GPS – where’s the mystery in that? Then Bumble and Coffee Meets Bagel were created giving full control over to women – they have 24 hours to talk to their potential partner before they disappear for good, better get in there quickly ladies. Since when has technology replaced romance? 

But you’re not alone if you’re using them. Dating apps are soaring, I know people that use a range of apps to maximize their chances, but that’s no secret for most of us. A friend of mine, who just started working believes dating apps are the only way she can meet people outside our friendship group. In 2015, a study revealed Tinder matches 26 million would-be-couples every 24 hours in the UK alone. This is a number that has certainly increased across all the apps worldwide. 

It just goes to show; being a millennial takes the fun out of dating. It has become too predictable. Girl swipes boy. Boy asks girl to "hangout." Girl and boy hook-up. The end. You know the story as well as we do, and honestly, it's getting a little old. 

We tend to choose people based on their age, pictures and a short description before talking to them and finding out more. It hardly gives anyone a chance to meet someone more than on a superficial level. Maybe this is the route some people prefer, but there is little scope for romance. 

Are we all so busy looking at our apps to notice those around us? We’ve replaced the authentic experience of meeting someone and building an organic connection with him or her with the act of swiping and followed by a hangout oftentimes filled with certain expectations.  

The notion in all great love stories has been taken away from us – love isn’t an accident anymore. We aren’t meant to plan or anticipate it. Now we are able to sort out the chaos and even though we have busy schedules and are absorbed by our social networks; there’s no thrill. 

Then again there are still many of us on dating apps – it is something we have to live with. So here’s some advice, put your real self out there. Filter out the jerks as soon as you can. If he's asking you to watch a documentary and hangout at his place, he probably has no intention of getting to know you on a deeper level. He's putting in minimal effort because he doesn't see any value in planning for the future. Be honest with yourself. There's nothing wrong with having fun for just one night, but acknowledge when it really is only a hook-up. And if that's not what you're looking for, keep swiping.

Most importantly, don’t rule out anyone that stares at you from across the road. Believe it or not, you can meet someone without the help of an app, and at the end of the day, face-to-face dating is how you'll really get to know someone and (hopefully) avoid the jerks.