Online dating has become less bizarre and more preferred in our society in recent years. It’s more convenient too. Online dating sites are designed specifically to eliminate that time consuming, trial-and-error period most people experience when looking for someone they truly connect with. Even comedian Aziz Ansari describes online dating as going to a bar – except you can delete all the men and all the women who are already taken. Since 2012, Tinder has taken the idea of online dating to a slightly more casual nature, which can simply be described as online hookups.
For those who don’t know, Tinder is a GPS-based phone application used purely for matchmaking. Its straightforward design consists of a roulette of Facebook default photos of potential people of interest in one’s general area. Each person is displayed with his or her age and basic information. There are also usually three or four included photos so that you can get a decent idea of what the person looks like. If you find the person attractive, you have the option to click the green heart icon, or “swipe right.” If not, then there is a red “X” (or swipe left) that tosses the photo into cyber oblivion. When someone you have “swiped right” on does the same for you, it’s called a “match.” You then have the ability to message your match and make possible plans to meet.
While this might seem like a fun activity for some, older generations are labeling Tinder as a shallow application. I find this true in a way. You get a mere handful of photos to convince someone to press that little green heart. Another thing that unsettles me is the big red stamp saying “NOPE” that appears after the photo is tossed aside when you swipe left. There are few things more dehumanizing than a big “NOPE” stamped to your face, and this decision is based purely on appearance and age! We humans are expressed by countless qualities that ought to be presented to prove that we are worth the green heart icon.
However, I have encountered girls who met their boyfriends on Tinder. While I’m relieved to hear that more profitable things than one-night-stands can spawn from the app, I still find this notion a little offbeat. Picture yourself around fifteen years into the future. You may be married and have a kid or two at this point. Ranked somewhere closely underneath, “Where do babies some from?” there comes that big question most children one day ask their parents: The, “How did you and Daddy/Mommy meet?” question. How does one explain to their child that they met their spouse on a phone application essentially designed for casual sex? As a bit of a romantic, I wouldn’t want this to be my story. Be that as it may, I assume it ultimately doesn’t matter how two people meet so long as they are happy. But in the meantime, Tinder, class-up a bit if you want the stigma to disappear!