Most of you have probably heard about Tinder, the online dating app where you either swipe right on someone’s photo if you like someone or left if you don’t. Once you like someone and they like you back you are automatically matched and can have a conversation. In theory Tinder is supposed to be a quicker, faster way for local singles to meet, connect and form relationships. Up until recently I had never used Tinder, because I was in a committed relationship. But as the saying goes all good things come to an end and enviably I ended up on Tinder for two reasons. One, I was curious about what was out there, being in a relationship for so long I really wasn’t sure how dating worked and figured this would be an easy way to get my foot into the dating world so to speak. And two, I figured if nothing else Tinder would help boost my ego.
Now I’ve only had Tinder for about two months and it has provided me a huge ego boost, I have meet lot of interesting people and had a lot of pretty cool experiences I would not had if I was still in a relationship. However, Tinder has also given me some of the worst dates of my life and has made me understand why so many people would rather be single. The app itself has its ups and its downs and from my experience, I compiled a list of all the types of people you meet on Tinder.
The Ghosters
Have you ever met someone you really like, only to have them completely disappear off the face the earth? They won’t answer your texts, or your calls and you have no idea what went wrong or why they decided to cut off all communication with you. Unfortunately, there are a lot of guys and girls that will ghost you on Tinder. Ghosting someone is a really messed up thing to do but I can’t even be too hard on the people who do it because not only has it happened to me, I’ve also done it.
This issue with ghosting is that you don’t know who will do it to you, but just remember if you do get ghosted it was not you. Some people just don’t want commitment or just don’t have the balls to communicate how they feel like an adult, so they rather just vanish. However, in most cases people typically ghost people because they don’t have any interest in them anymore. If you do get ghosted, keep your head up, you don’t need to beg to have anyone’s attention. Keep it pushing and move on to the next tinder guy.
The Dead Ends
The dead end tinder dates go hand in hand with the ghosters. The dead end tinder dates are the ones that don’t go anywhere or have no desire to form any kind of relationship. Typically, these kinds of people are the ones that give you those one word replies or not replies at all for days. It drives me crazy. Unfortunately, this is a common theme among Tinder users. An example of a Tinder conversation with one of these people goes as the following:
Me: So what do you like doing in your spare time?
Potential Tinder Match: Stuff
Me: Oh what kind of stuff are you into, outdoor things, artsy things, like what are your interests and hobbies?
Potential Tinder Match: Both
Me: oh okay, that’s nice
Potential Tinder Match: yeah
End of conversation. How are you supposed to get to know someone if they can’t even bother to send you more than one syllable at a time. How is a conversation supposed to keep going? The only thing worse than someone who can’t hold a conversation is someone who keeps canceling dates. Have you ever gotten all dolled up and wasted so much effort in looking good only to get a text saying your date is cancelled? Trying having that done 3 times in a row to you. In my experience it’s best to just move on from these people and your time and energy is far too valuable to waste on someone who really doesn’t care.
The One Night Standers
This category really doesn’t need too much detail. These are the kind of tinder matches that just want to hit and quit it. Now I am not someone who judges people and what they choose to do with their lives, if this is something you are after, Tinder is the epicenter for random hookups. Just be careful not to get too attached.
The Crazy Ones
This should go without saying, but on the internet you are bound to run into some crazy people. You never know who you are really talking to on the other end on the screen. Catfishing is a common trend among online dating and online predators do use dating apps to seek and lure girls and boys. It is quite possible you will run into someone online that wants to harm you or take advantage of you.
What I like to do if I am going on a date with anyone I have met online is always have a safety for the night. I will ask one of my friends to text me periodically throughout the date, give them basic information about my date (age, height, occupation etc.) as well as send them photo of what they look like and instruct them to call my parents or the police if I am not home at a certain time. Luckily I have always made it back home safe and nothing bad has ever happened but I have heard a lot of horror stories like girls getting dropped off in the middle of nowhere or having their phones stolen. Reddit has a pretty long thread of various Tinder horror stories, which can be read right here (LINK :https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/3xvh51/what_is_your_tinder_horror_story/). When online dating please be careful and do not hesitate to ask to see to their social media and demand to meet a public place first. And if you get a bad feeling from them, there is no shame in canceling the date and un-matching them.
The Friend
Not everyone you meet on Tinder will break your heart and block your number. There are in special cases when you can meet a totally normal decent human. I have actually made quite a few friends off Tinder. Our dates may not have led anywhere romantically between the two of us but I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know these people and I’m pretty happy to have them in my life.
Just on a side note: if you are not looking for a serious relationship or anything with commitment Tinder is great place to meet a friend with benefits. And the funny part is you don’t even have to ask, it will usually say “Looking for a friend with benefits” in their Tinder bio. That’s the great thing about online dating, it’s fast, convenient and all awkward conversations can be avoided with an updated Tinder bio.
The One with Potential
I do believe it is possible to meet someone on Tinder that wants to be more than friends. That there is someone out there that wants to make memories with you, take you on fun dates, spend the night talking to you for hours. Not everyone is looking for love on Tinder, or even friendship. Sure, you will meet a lot of crappy people and a lot of people that you are just not interested in but I do believe the possibility exists that your soulmate could be swiping right on your photo right now. You never really know until you try right? So, to all the single people out there whether you are looking for a good time thing, a one-time thing or a forever kind of thing, you might just find it on Tinder.
Happy swiping!
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