It’s that time of year again, and no, it’s not just fall, ladies – I’m talking about cuffing season. If you’ve got a boo by this time of the year, you’re kind of immune to this whole season. Everywhere I go, I see couples studying together, getting food together, and walking to class together. Basically, everyone but me is doing something with another person they like. So, in a late-night decision, I decided to sign up for Tinder, Bumble, and OkCupid to see which dating app would give me the closest chance to finding anything because apparently everyone else on campus is “boo’d up” (great song btw, Ella Mai). Here’s what I learned during my first week on the most used dating apps!
1. If there’s a group picture, it’s not who you think it is.
I hate to say it, but if there’s two or more people in the picture, it’s almost, most definitely, the one you don’t want it to be. Sometimes they’re both cute so it’s whatever, right? But most of the time, you’re swiping left and are left disappointed (It depends on your taste, girl).
2. OkCupid is intense af.
So, I’m convinced OkCupid is like Match.com for millennials. There are hundreds of questions that you have to answer, and those answers are used to see how much you match up with someone. It’s weird because it makes you feel like you shouldn’t try to match with anyone that isn’t at least an 80-95% match because you want someone that you’ll connect with, but at the same time, most of my matches just weren’t what I was looking for. What’s the deal, OkCupid?
3. Tinder is mostly just for fun and hookups.
I don’t have to explain this. Most guys on Tinder were and are there for hookups or finding a FWB (Friend with Benefits), which is totally fine if you’re into that! I’m not, so it was a huge turn off.
4. I HATED Bumble because I had to talk first.
Bumble looked at my fear of rejection and said, “I don’t care.” Girls have to message first on the app, so I had all of these TIMED matches (yeah, they give you 24 hours to respond, major yikes!), and no motivation to message them.
5. Having Tinder U (University) and regular Tinder was the app’s smartest decision, but also its dumbest decision.
Tinder U features solely on college students, but I thought it would just be consisted of available guys around me, but the app kept showing my guys that were miles and miles away. How am I supposed to meet Dylan from USC?
6. These dating apps can be more of an ego and confidence boost than to actually meet someone.
What all three of these apps had in common was the feeling I got, and many other people have gotten, from getting matches. At first, I was kind of weirded out by the idea of swiping right and immediately getting a match or finding out that I got a match, but after I got used to it, it was more about getting a confidence boost than actually finding a match. Whenever “It’s a Match!” popped up, it made me feel good about myself. I honestly didn’t like that feeling at all, and I felt like I was validated by the number of guys or the type of guys that matched with me.
7. I matched with 2 people I knew and didn’t even realize it.
Okay, so, this was the mind-blow of the century for me. The first guy lives on my floor, and I didn’t realize it was him until my roommate pointed it out. The second guy is in one of my classes, and when my roommate pointed out again that it was a guy we both knew, I gasped. He looked nothing like his Tinder photos! So, I asked her if I looked like my photos because I didn’t want to be a catfish.
8. All of dating apps got boring to use after the first week.
After a week on these dating apps, I ended up deleting all of them. For myself, I know that I want a real connection with someone in person, and I truly can’t see myself finding someone through a dating app. This is nothing against anyone who does, or any couples that have found each other through the app. It’s honestly amazing that people have found each other through these areas of dating, but I don’t think it’s a possibility for me. I guess I’m more of a traditional kind of gal!