When Bumble debuted as the first ever female-controlled dating app, millions hopped on board in hopes of finding a more respectful romantic life online. With Tinder previously reigning as the household brand of hook-up focused apps, Bumble has shown promise as a platform to meet guys that you might actually date.
However, the questions asked during profile onboarding don’t do anything to encourage emotional connection between the swiping singles. While apps like Hinge are designed to match couples based on personality and questions first, Bumble follows the standard physical attraction model upon which human mating is founded. I’m starting to sound Darwinian, so let’s move on.
For a while it’s easy to believe the ball is really in your court on Bumble. But the same sting of rejection that you feel when you realize the guy you’ve been eye-contact flirting with has a girlfriend is amplified on this app. The more you put yourself out there and send a simple ‘hey’ or ‘u cute’ to different guys, the more you’ll be ignored. Statistically, it makes sense. But if I wanted to sign up to be left on open a hundred times I’d add all of SAE on Snapchat.
So, what can you do? It’s hard to scout eligible bachelors in real life, and now it’s nearly impossible to do so through apps. Guys feel empowered as they receive floods of messages from Bumble matches, while girls wait eagerly to see if maybe a relationship could materialize with a stranger. It’s a twisted system of masculine-favored logic, and I don’t think I can appreciate that.