With any luck, if you’ve been reading the past few Tinder Files articles, and taking the advice we’ve been giving, then maybe you’ve scored yourself a date. But, before you put yourself out there to your Prince Charming of Tinder, here’s 10 things to do before you meet him in person.
1. Verify his existence
As far as I see if, this is easily the most crucial step of them all. I mean if he’s not real then there’s no need to proceed any further. With all the stories out there about catfishing and fake Tinder accounts you just can’t be too careful…you could have been picking up a bot all along, and how disappointing would that be.
2. Thoroughly investigate all social media outlets
Once you’ve made absolutely sure that he is a real person, the next step is to thoroughly investigate all social media outlets to the best of your ability. Try to get a sense for who he is as a person, the things that aren’t included on his carefully curated Tinder profile.
Caution: Do not draw attention to your investigation when on the date, that’s creepy and exposes a side that just is not desirable to anyone…how creeped out would you be if someone started spouting facts about you from high school…um no thanks
3. Confirm his relationship status. Objective: Single
You do not want to be the ‘other’ woman, especially unknowingly…talk about embarrassing. In your research, look for signs of current girlfriends or him in suspiciously intimate poses with other girls.
Fair warning, you may stumble upon pictures of past flings which is totally allowed. Before panicking when you come across a picture of him with a girl, look for tags that indicate that he’s with his sister and check the date to see how old the pic is. Be sure you triangulate data from all social media accounts in this step.
4. Alert all your friends to your whereabouts and plans
After all your research, sometimes your date turns out to be a creep, or the chemistry just isn’t as undeniable as you thought, no judgements it happens. So, to avoid potentially predatory situations, alert a select group of friends to your plans and whereabouts so that they can come rescue you when you’ve been gone for far too long.
5. Strategize a possible ‘bail out’, complete with code that only the closest of your girlfriends will understand
If your plans do take a turn for the predatory, make sure you have an easy, incognito code (but not too incognito that they totally miss the message) between you and your squad so that they can take the necessary measures to get you out of there, in the least awkward way possible.
6. Confirm your plans with said ‘match’
You wouldn’t want to go to all this trouble to find that you had the wrong date/location written down or yikes to find that he’s changed his mind altogether about meeting you (worst case scenario). When confirming with your date make sure that you’ve selected a place that is public, and that you are comfortable at.
7. Update your squad on the plans
Yeah, I know that step four was also to tell your friends. But, it is imperative that you keep your friends up to date on all of your plans, how else will they know where to rescue you? Or stake out to catch a glimpse of your Tinder mystery man?
8. Find the perfect playlist to pump you up for the date.
Maybe it’s just me, but the right music is a sure-fire way to put me in a good mood. And how many times have you made plans and then spent the better part of the day deep in a Netflix binge marathon only to find that by the time the date comes around you’ve lost all motivation to move and are really only interested in how Jim and Pam’s love life turns out rather than your own. The solution? Pump up those tunes and get yourself in the zone.
My trust test subject has provided a selection of her favorite playlists to start you off.
http://8tracks.com/aroushka-jinelle/such-a-tease#smart_id
http://8tracks.com/perpetual/date-night
http://8tracks.com/aimokz/date-night#smart_id
9. Dress to impress
Obviously, you’re going to want to look your best for your date even when you don’t feel up to it, so be sure to snap pictures of potential outfits to your squad for their consultation, at this point they are more if not equally as invested in this date as you are.
Make sure you’re prepared for all scenarios, as cute as it is in Rom-Coms you really don’t want to have to share his jacket (unless its going really well and you want an excuse to see him, then by all means ‘conveniently’ lose your jacket)
10. Arrive early and scope out your surroundings.
To put yourself in a position of power, get there early and get comfortable in your surroundings, maybe buy yourself a coffee (or wait for him to buy it, it’s up to you). Scope out potential escape routes and pick a flattering seat. Take 10 deep breaths and wait for your date to begin!
GOOD LUCK! AND ENJOY YOUR TINDER DATE!