Everyone loves a good experiment, right? Whether it be almost blowing something up in chemistry or seeing if your new invention helps you walk on water, experiments can be fun, exhilarating, and maybe even motivational. In some ways you can apply that to dating apps, and others you can’t. If you know me, dating apps, online meeting platforms, or any of that, is just not my vibe. But sometimes it’s a good idea to step out of your comfort zone. My experience may be considered normal, or it might not be. Depending on who you are or what you’ve already tried, you may or may not relate, but regardless, sit back and enjoy!
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My Online Dating ChallengeÂ
February 21st, after my weekly meeting with my HER campus team, I was still going over what was said in the meeting. Our president decided to help us with some article suggestions, which shoutout to Kenzie, thank you for that! Sometimes as a writer you can experience what many will call a writer’s block. It happens to me occasionally, especially when there is so much going on in my life and I can’t seem to concentrate on one thing at a time. So as a little boost for our articles, Kenzie suggested three various article topics: “Try coffee from different places and write a review”, “Go a day without wearing makeup and describe your experience”, and the last one: “Download a dating app for a week and write about your experience.” When looking at them, I knew coffee was out of the question since I did not like coffee. I barely wear makeup so that was a no. But the last one, I was almost dead-set, a hard no. I happened to tell my roommate about the article suggestions and she was like, why don’t you try the last one. Fear and panic entered my eyes and I was like ummm, no? But after some convincing from her, I finally gave in. After all, I really needed an article idea.
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Downloading Bumble
That night, I set up my profile on Bumble and decided to go for it. Now, some might say I take these things too seriously but I’m not the one to go swiping left and right aimlessly. I analyze people’s profiles, look at where they are from, their pictures, their likes and dislikes, and yes, their height. It isn’t until then when I decide whether I might want to potentially match with them and consider swiping right. So surprisingly, I ended up with A LOT of matches. If I counted correctly, it was almost 50. Which for me is VERY surprising. With all the people I matched with, I tried to keep the conversation casual, nothing crazy, especially since I wasn’t completely sure what I wanted out of the whole experience.Â
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There were highs and lows out of the entire experience as a whole. To start off on a low note, there were some, just like any dating app, that were just there to find a girl to hook up with for the night. I also had some people where I just wasn’t feeling any sort of connection with (conversation wise) and I felt as if I couldn’t continue speaking to them without forcing myself to. If I can’t vibe in a conversation with you, it’s not worth my time. On a high note, I did have some good connections with using the app. Some of the conversations were really cool, thoughtful, and funny and I was definitely not regretting downloading it at that point. I did happen to actually meet one of the guys I matched with in person this past Friday, February 26th. IT PROVES THEIR EXISTENCE! The whole meetup went well, a total of five and a half hours of talking (make sure to bring water if that is what you plan to do), and just chilling and playing games. Surprisingly I didn’t find it too awkward, like with most things, and I am totally keen on meeting up with this guy again. Yes I know, very surprising for me.Â
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Overall, my experience went pretty well. At first I was dead-set on having the app for a week and then getting rid of it once the time came. I decided against that, and am going to just have it there in the background. I’m probably not going to be as active on it as I was for the past week but occasionally will revisit the old friend. If you are looking to meet new people, which I’m always interested in doing (but preferably in person), try downloading a dating app and see what happens. If you decide that’s not your thing, that is perfectly fine! You never know, you might meet your future significant other…