I recently got out of a four year relationship.
While Tinder certainly existed before I started dating my boyfriend, it hadn’t risen to the prominence that it has begun to within the spectrum of modern dating. For the last four years I would grab my friends’ phones and furiously swipe through men and women trying their hardest to present their best selves in the hopes of attracting a partner for the evening, or for life. It was an interesting experiment, viewing it from the outside, however nothing provides the same insight as being right there in the action.
Over the last two weeks, I’ve matched with 116 different men, and exchanged messages with 49 of them. I’ve met one. My goal has not been to connect with anyone on any particular level, but more to have fun and meet interesting people, and really, I just wanted to participate in a pop culture phenomenon that I never got to before. Here’s what I’ve learned:
1. If you work somewhere that involves customer service, there is a very good chance you will run into someone you matched with on Tinder. It may be awkward.
2. Keep that profile short, succinct, and FUNNY. I swiped left on a lot of guys trying to tell me their life story in that tiny profile box.
Swipe. Right.
3. If you don’t reply right away, be prepared to be shamed.
#masculinitysofragile
4. If you end up matching with a friend, you’ll probably just spend a lot of time chatting with them, just on a different forum.
Who needs Facebook when you have Tinder?
5. The kinds of questions you ask matter a lot more than whether you’re 6ft or have a six pack.
Swoon.
7.Men in their thirties either look 17 or 45.
There is no in between.
8. Some jokes are NOT funny.
9. Nobody really knows what they’re doing, or what they hope to find.
Much like myself, most people on Tinder are just bumping around hoping for some kind of human connection. Sometimes all you can ask for is a good conversation.
10. There are actually A LOT of nice, interesting men on this thing!
Good job gentlemen of Vancouver.
*Special consultation provided by former Tinder expert, and my best friend, Rachel Schneider.
