While living alone in Maine for the summer, just after graduating high school, I decided to download Tinder for the first time. I didn’t really know anybody around yet, so I thought this would be a fun way to meet people in the area– or at least give me something to do at home.
I had heard so many horror stories about Tinder and the dates that my friends had gone on, so I was, of course, wary going into the app. At first, I had a few dates here and there, but they were ultimately unsuccessful, so I took a break from the app, but ultimately re-downloaded it when I moved back to school my sophomore year, and boy am I lucky I did.
I matched with Daniel in late September, and we texted for about two weeks before we met in person. Our first date felt like any other first date does: a little bit awkward, but overall fun, and I left the date knowing I wanted to see him again. We hung out for another two or three weeks before we officially starting dating, and since then, I’ve noticed something about the way people react to the way we met.
When we say we met on a dating app, people tend to give us a weird look– even people from our own generation. They act shocked and seem to judge us right off the bat. Considering the fact that our generation is the most technologically dependent, this strikes me as odd.
According to an article by Pew Research Center, 88% of people ages 18-24 check one or more social media outlets daily, including Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, or YouTube. More and more people are using these apps to connect to others and to meet new people, but there is still a stigma around relationships that start online.
The most important part of a relationship should not be how the couple met, but rather how they interact, how happy they are together, and how they feel about each other.
Not to brag or anything, but Daniel is the sweetest, kindest, and funniest guy I’ve ever met. He treats me well and I do the same for him, so why does it matter how we met? Stop asking us “what we will tell our grandchildren” about how we met, because online dating and social media use are growing exponentially daily. By the time our generation has grandchildren, dating apps will be a mainstream part of life.
Sure, a dating app is a less conventional way of meeting people, but it’s honestly worth a shot. You might just strike gold like I did!