Will you be my Tinderella? Oh yes- this is a real line used by many, many men on the popular new app, Tinder.
For those of you who don’t know, there is a hot new app called Tinder, and it’s used to meet new people in your area. Whether you’re searching for new friends or looking for a potential new beau, Tinder allows you to swipe through profiles of the people in or around your area deeming them HOT or NOT.
Here’s the lowdown on how it works. You make an account that connects to your Facebook page (the app is not allowed to post to your Facebook page, so no one knows that you have just created an account, wheeew that was a close one!). The only information it takes from your profile is your first name, age, list of friends and interests. Once the app collects that information, it allows you to go through your Facebook pictures to choose which ones you want to be published on your Tinder profile. You can choose to write a short tagline about yourself such as where you go to school, what you’re looking for in a life partner or you can go outside the box and write, “well this isn’t where I left my car” (yes, there are multiple people who actually use that).
The next step is to create your settings. You choose your gender, the sex and age range of the people you’re interested in meeting, as well as the area mileage in which you would like to limit your search. The only thing missing is the desired salary you wish your new “friend” makes. When you’re all finished setting up your account, it’s time to begin Tindering!
Now the fun and your search for new friends begins! It all starts with a person’s main profile picture and their tagline. You now get to make the split life altering decision of whether or not you like that person based on that one picture. You can swipe your finger to the right signaling “like”, or you can swipe to the left meaning “nope”. Or if you like what you see but aren’t completely sure you are ready to commit to “liking” them, you can tap on the picture to browse the other photos they have posted. The profile also shows if you have Facebook friends in common, as well as shared interests. I know, you are being asked to judge a book by its cover, but lets be honest, first impressions are everything!
The best part about this app is that the other person doesn’t know that you have liked them unless they mutually like you, so there is no sense of embarrassment if they didn’t like you back! If you have both mutually liked each other, Tinder notifies you of the match. You then get the opportunity to privately chat with that person you’ve linked with – how Tinderific!! And so it goes on and on until you’ve given up, or run out of people in your area, which is a tell-all sign you’re on Tinder way too much!
Some say that this app is a great way to meet people you wouldn’t have otherwise met while others say it is just for quick and easy hook-ups. Either way, it all comes down to what you make of it. My advice for anyone using the app, just be smart and be careful about who you decide to meet up with. Remember that the show Catfish exists for a reason.