Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, Coffee Meets Bagel, the list of dating apps goes on and on. Today’s generation loves to do everything on our phone and that includes dating. Pace is a small school and your pick of boys is limited making dating apps all the more enticing. They’re convenient and honestly they’re fun. You can have some great conversations, meet a few great guys and get a few free meals out of it.
I’ve been on three dates myself and they’ve all failed but I still have all of my apps and still keep trying. Living in New York can make dating hard when you’re commuting around the city you tend to keep to yourself, and that cute stranger you made eye contact on the street with will most likely never see you again. For those reasons and more dating apps were created. They make it easy to meet guys and sure they can be a bit sketchy at times but you just have to be smart about it.
Tinder dating is not as scary as it seems. However, there are a few guidelines that I’ve followed throughout my dating app experience that have kept me safe.
Before you meet, get their number and last name: Never meet someone you’ve only been talking to on the app. It is important to get basic information on them first. Get their number and make sure the area code matches up with where they say they are from. As far as their last name, I always tell guys that my big pet peeve is not having last names in my phone. This is true, but it also gets them to give me their last name. Having this piece of information means that you can creep on them on social media and make sure they are who they say they are.
Add them on Snapchat: Adding them on Snapchat means that you can see them in real time. It’s pretty easy to make a fake Facebook, but is difficult with Snapchat
Go on a date in a public place: Make sure you’re going somewhere with a lot of people around. Why? It’s pretty easy to do in New York, so it’s not a huge problem for me.
Meet during the day: I suggest meeting during the day, if possible. Meeting in broad daylight is the safest. If you cannot meet during the day, have friends walk you to your date. When you get to your location, make sure your friends stick around.
Always meet at a location: Never have them pick you up. It’s always better to meet at a location that way he doesn’t know where you live.
Don’t make it awkward: Just have fun. It’s just a regular date. Just because you met on a dating app doesn’t mean it has to be weird or awkward.
Maybe if you open your heart you’ll find love, or just get a couple of free meals in the process… Have fun, and stay safe!