10 Tips On How To ACTUALLY Get A Date On Tinder

If you’re single, you should be on Tinder—if only for generation solidarity. Yes, there are a lot of people out there who claim that dating apps have killed romance and turned dating into some form of mindless online shopping that will give you an STD in the end. But those people are old and out of touch. Dating apps are simply a new, interesting way to meet new, interesting people.

It’s 2017 – Tinder is an essential life skill, and the good news is that it's easy. Essentially there are two rules you should follow: Look good and don’t be a creep. But you’d be seriously shocked about how difficult that can be for some people. Here, we’ve pooled together our best tips for how to use Tinder with success.

For the love of god, show your face in your main photo!!!

This should be obvious, but it’s incredible how many people haven’t figured this out. Using a blurry photo of you wearing sunglasses in a massive crowd does not make you seem mysterious or interesting. It’s an autopilot left swipe. Do yourself a favor and have your main photo show your face, in focus and preferably with a pleasant expression on your face (or, at the very least, not looking like you just smelled something absolutely disgusting).

You need a bio—literally anything is better than nothing.

Choosing random strangers to sleep with from an everlasting, high-speed stream of photos is already scary enough for most people. You don’t need to fill your profile with further uncertainty by not writing a bio. Just make it easy for people, and be yourself. If you’re funny, follow your heart’s desire and write a funny bio. If you’re not funny, please don’t try to be… Just briefly explain who you are and what you like to do or something. Skipping the bio is a major party foul.

Two photos is not enough. Accept this as truth.

Anything less than three, and you’re just not going to get swiped. More pictures = more matches. Fact.

When starting up a conversation, JUST BE A NORMAL PERSON.

When sending a message after a match, do not send a weird riddle. Do not send a lame pickup line. And do not say anything vaguely threatening. Just say something that you would naturally say in person. Choosing a cliché pickup line like, “I hope you know CPR because you take my breath away” or “If I said you had a beautiful body, would you hold it against me?” will just make the reader feel sick to their stomach. Also, super creepy opening lines like “Heyyyyyyyy beautiful” make me feel like you want to kill me and wear my skin as a suit.

Swipe left to gym selfies.

It is a scientific fact that 99% of the time swiping right on a gym selfie is going to end in trouble. Just don’t. No abs are worth it. 

Be yourself. Kind of.

You can’t just walk around on earth displaying every single one of your personality flaws and expect people to want to have sex with you. If you were interviewing for a job, you wouldn’t bust out the trashy lower back tattoo you got when you were drunk in Thailand. Use the same discretion on Tinder. Be yourself. But a well edited version of yourself.

Don’t have any expectations from your right swipes BUT be open to what can happen.

Most of the time, Tinder is just for fun, so don’t have any plans to find your future husband on the app. BUT on the other end of the spectrum, don’t rule out anyone just because you met them on Tinder. Swipes do sometimes lead to real relationships.  

Don’t be offended if someone doesn’t reply to your message.

Life is filled with painful situations. In comparison to most stuff, this isn’t that bad. Dust yourself off and move onto to your next right swipe.

Just meet for a drink.

First dates are awkward enough. Don’t make things worse by having to walk around a museum together for three hours. Alcohol is liquid courage. Don’t get drunk, though. Bonus: Drinks are easier to escape from if things start going downhill. It’s harder to leave dinner.

And meet sooner rather than later.

No matter how well you and your match are vibing in your DMs, the spark will eventually die out if you don’t go ahead and meet up. You need to have some face-to-face action to keep things flowing, but it's important to find as much information about the person as possible beforehand (this article explores more about how you learn about a prospective tinder date ahead of time). Take a small present for her on the first date. Classics are always in fashion. 

Next Up, Why Is He Still Using Tinder After Our Dirty Weekend Together?