This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Southampton chapter.
How To Find Love On Tinder (In 5 Easy Steps)
Unless you’ve been hiding under a massive rock for the last few months, you’ll have heard of Tinder, a location based dating app that matches users with potential dates within a set amount of kilometres. However, it can be hard to find Prince Charming amongst all the plonkers in tin foil that use the infamous app, so here’s Her Campus’ simple guide to finding The One.
1) Your Profile Pictures
Tinder allows users to put up to five pictures on their profiles, taken from their Facebook page. But how to get the perfect formula for finding love? Well, four pictures is all you need to wow! Firstly, select two pictures of yourself to show your Romeo who he’s talking to. One ‘selfie’ style close up, and a body shot (because, unfortunately, men are shallow!). Secondly, choose a picture of you with friends to show that you’re a social butterfly (night-out pictures are always good), and thirdly, choose a picture of you doing a hobby or something interesting to show that you’re a well rounded person with interests. This also makes a great conversation starter! And a key don’t? Never have a picture of you and a boy pal as a picture on Tinder – people will thing you’re looking for an affair… Awkward!
2) The Daunting ‘About You’
I don’t know anyone who enjoys filling in these ‘about you’ sections. Our advice is to keep it short and sweet, with a description of what you do ‘Second Year English Student’ and a choice quote summarising yourself as a person (for indie points, go for a band no one will have heard of). Remember to keep it brief so you’ve got things to talk about when he ‘likes’ you – also, we read enouat uni without reading one on Tinder too! Also, don’t forget that your Facebook ‘likes’ will be visible on your Tinder biography, so maybe it’s time to unlike the ‘Dirty Old Men’ page your friend liked on your behalf? Just a hint.
3) How near is near enough?
Tinder asks you to set boundaries for upper and lower age limits and distance. My advice? Keep these as broad as you can so you don’t shut out any potential Prince Charmings! Though, obviously don’t says you’ll date people up to the age of fifty – that will delay your swiping sessions somewhat!
4) How to avoid swiping past perfect suitors
Once you’re all set up, Tinder will send you images of nearby people which you can either swipe past if you’re not interested, or ‘like’ if you are. If someone that you ‘like’ likes you back, it’ll be a match and you’ll be able to chat. To make sure you’re not swiping past anyone great, take the time to read their about sections and check out their Facebook likes to make sure you’re not just basing your decisions on looks.
5) That First Conversation
That first conversation after you’ve ‘matched’ with someone can be really, really awkward. To keep things interesting, open with a ‘hey’ and a comment about a ‘like’ on Facebook that you have in common – this opens a conversation up and stops things becoming stilted after the initial pleasantries. If it all goes so well that you set up a date, make sure you tell someone where you’re going – safety first!
Want to get in on the action? Download Tinder free from the App Store. Happy swiping!