As technologies evolve, so has the way people date. No longer do we need to go out to meet new people- we can turn to digital apps to introduce us to others instead.
When Tinder first hit the App Store in 2012, it was pegged quickly as a hookup app. Very few people saw the potential for getting an actual date through Tinder, which scared some people off.
Even though it started as a hookup app, it’s the simplicity that made the number of users grow exponentially- all you have to do is swipe right to say “yes, I like you,” or swipe left to say “no thanks.” If two people swipe right on each other, it’s a match!
Eventually, the use of the app became more widespread and people looking for different types of relationships were on it. Today, finding a boyfriend or girlfriend on Tinder isn’t out of the ordinary.
Vanessa Mendaglio, a 21-year-old girl from Montreal, met her boyfriend of three months on Tinder.
“The conversation started with him being really cheesy and suave,” she said. “We spoke on Tinder for a few days non-stop, day and night. We spoke about anything and everything,” she explained.
The first date didn’t occur in either of their beds as a hookup. “On our first date he took me to have a picnic on top of Mount Royal…it was super cute, and I loved how economic he is,” Mendaglio explained.
What really impressed her was how he acted when the date was over. “At the end of our date he dropped me off at my car, and then 20 minutes later he called to make sure I got home okay and [to say] that he had a really good time with me!”
Jessica Landry, also 21, has an experience similar to Mendaglio’s. “I’m dating my current boyfriend, Joel, because of Tinder,” she said. “[The date] went really well because I guess encountering someone on an app like that really puts you in an open mindset. You don’t necessarily have all [the] same negative thoughts or fears that one would normally get when planning a date with an acquaintance or a friend,” she explained.
A last-minute change of plans moved the location of their first date from a public place to Landry’s home. “We hit it off really well,” she said, “and even though we both clarified we weren’t looking for anything serious, we started dating a month later and [we] have been dating for a year and a half in November!”
Even though she was only on Tinder for about week, Landry likes how Tinder works. “The app in itself is a crazy power trip,” she said. “At a bar you can’t just simply say no to a guy you’re not interested [in] and they disappear forever. Usually it’s a lot more complicated than that, they keep flirting and you keep trying to find a way to politely decline without angering him in case he turns out to be a psycho that wants to wear your skin as a hat. On the app you just swipe left and poof- they’re gone!”
Kayla White is another girl who has had a positive experience on Tinder, but who has also had some negative ones. “[One time] the guy showed up an hour late and made me pay for everything,” she explained. “We went to a movie and he walked me to the metro. What made it awkward was that he grabbed me in attempt to make out with me!”
Despite the negative experience, White didn’t give up on the app and it worked out in her favor. She met her boyfriend on Tinder about six months ago and the relationship is going strong. “We went on our first date and we knew that we were going to be together for a while,” she said. “To be honest, I’m pretty certain that we will be together for a fairly long time.”
Going on dates with people you don’t really know can be nerve-racking and although girls should be careful with who they meet up with, it’s good to go out of your comfort zone. Katie Howard finally gave in to her now boyfriend of nine months after turning him down on Tinder many times.
“I was in a kind of YOLO feeling because I had been on so many [dates] that I didn’t really care if it went well or not. And what convinced me to go on the date was the fact that our Tinder conversation was going really well, it was different from what I was used to. He was very respectful and we had a lot in common,” she justified.
Tinder can even be good for international relationships. Natascha Eilers, a 22-year-old originally from Germany currently travelling most of North America with a friend, was surprised when she met a guy she got along with really well while in Florida.
“He picked me up, took me to a Cuban restaurant and drove me [around] on a sightseeing trip,” she said. “We talked about everything and it was a really good conversation so we decided to meet up the next day and the day after and it just clicked.”
The two have since entered a long-distance relationship while she continues her travels. On her birthday, he even arranged to have an edible arrangement sent to her hotel room in California.
Even though the number of successful, serious relationships on Tinder have gone up, there are still the few looking for hookups. Occasionally they’ll just straight out tell you that they want sex, and other times they’ll try to lure you in with lame pickup lines. If that’s not what you’re looking for, at least you can get a good laugh.