There are a multitude of dating websites out there – from Match.com to eHarmony.com. However, these sites are targeted toward single adults looking for serious relationships – not for young people in college. Dating websites like these require a participant to make a full profile of interests and complete a personality evaluation so the masters behind the proverbial “magic” can appropriately evaluate you and your potential companions.
But what about services for geared toward young people looking to meet some new acquaintances in the area? When I first heard about the new app, Tinder, from my friends, I was appalled – honestly, I thought it was a creepy idea for an app. However, my friends insisted that they only used the app as a joke; they only “liked” users from Bucknell they already knew.
Tinder claims that it “finds out who likes you nearby, and connects them with you if you’re also interested. It’s all anonymous until someone you like, likes you back.” The app works by accessing your Facebook to flash a picture of you to other people in the area; you can “like” or “skip” the person based on their picture. In addition to the picture, it shows how many mutual Facebook friends and interests you share. (For the record, I don’t think I had updated my interests on FB since the 9th grade). Using your current location, Tinder allows you to adjust the radius in which it will look for matches, anywhere from 5 to 100 miles. Once you and another person “like” one another, you constitute a match and can then chat via Tinder, in a format that looks very similar to iMessage.
Last Sunday as I was watching the Grammys with my friends, Tinder entered the conversation. One of my friends had taken part in a hilarious conversation with a senior boy about going on a date to Walmart, and another had been shown a picture a of an older man whose profile picture was his cat in a Halloween costume. Since then, I’ve heard other funny stories about Tinder experiences. Though I was initially reluctant to use this new app, I decided to download it just for fun.
Once I had Tinder on my own phone, I saw why my friends were so amused by it. There was something exciting about flipping through pictures, seeing who you recognized, and throwing them a “like.” Of course I only liked students and peers I knew and recognized – no way was I trying to actually connect with strangers via Tinder. Furthermore, it was exciting in the first few hours of downloading this app to see who “liked” me back. A notification would pop up saying I had a match and I was eager to see who it was. Was it that cute senior? Or that funny freshman? Or that kid I sat next to in poetry class last semester? Embarrassingly enough, I was very excited when Tinder notified me of a new match.
Did my matches on Tinder really mean something could happen between us? I can confidently say no. I would compare Tinder to a toddler’s new toy: initially very exciting, but after about 48 hours, the novelty wears off. In the span of two days, I had already been matched up with the boys I knew at Bucknell and was left flipping through pictures of men I did not and had no desire to know. I deleted the app , but now I can say that it provided me with a funny conversation that later served as an ice breaker at a party. Tinder is an amusing app to play around with if you don’t take it too seriously, and I sincerely hope the majority of users see it in the same light – matchmaking based on one photo and a mutual “like”? Not exactly a recipe for true love.