These Are the Dating Apps That UWYO Student Are Using

*According to 18 random people that I met in Philosophy and the Library.*

For the past week, I’ve been doing some serious snooping. I’ve been talking to strangers and asking super personal and uncomfortable questions. I’ve been asking about love, dating, and hookups all under the umbrella of dating apps. Dating apps are the present and the future of dating. They are supposed to take some of the pressure off of flirting and dating. And well…I’ve heard a lot of mixed reviews. I have always been curious about whether or not these dating apps actually are successful and what apps my peers are actually on. I decided to conduct an investigation (^o^). I “interviewed” about 25 people, but only 18 of them had used or are currently using dating apps. From these 18 people, this is what I learned:

Tinder is the most commonly used app: Big Shocker. 

Tinder is a well-known and widely-used dating app that is popular among many age groups. It’s the original swipe right, swipe left app. It is also very well known for its role and influence in “hook-up culture”. While there are whisperings that Tinder is for only players and hookups, it still claims to be a place where there are people seriously looking for love.

• Of the eighteen, fifteen have used or are currently using Tinder. 

• Ten people are exclusively using Tinder.

• Twelve people have been on at least one date with a match on Tinder.

• Five have officially dated a match from Tinder.

• Eight have hooked up with someone they swiped right on Tinder.

• Six have never met any of their matches outside the app. 

• Overall rating: Three out of five stars

Bumble is a close runner up!

Bumble is an app that encourages women to make the first move. It’s a swipe right or left app, but the fun part is that when you match, the woman has 24 hours to decide whether they want to send a message or choose to let the time run out. On the streets, Bumble has a lot more credibility for its serious dating intentions.

• Eight of the eighteen participants have had some experience using Bumble.

• Three are exclusively using Bumble.

• Five have gone on dates with a match on Bumble.

• One is in a relationship with a match they had on Bumble.

• Two have never met a match outside of the app.

• Overall rating: Four out of five stars

An App I’ve never heard of before: Friendsy. 

Friendsy is an app that requires a .edu email to sign up. It’s a dating app tailored to college students. It matches users with other college students in your school and allows you to further filter your potential matches by class year, gender, and major. 

• Only one person that I interviewed is on Friendsy.

• This person has yet to match/date while on Friendsy.

• According to our singular user, Friendsy’s user population as UWYO is small, but growing.

• Rating: Three out of five stars

I was surprised at the lack of the diversity of apps being used because there are so so many dating apps out there. This lack of diversity could be due to my small sample or even due to our small town demographic. I was not surprised that Tinder was the most popular, I think this is mainly a result of its name value. Bumble seems very promising though to those looking for serious relationships; I am under the impression that its design and demographic tends to draw people that are seriously looking for relationships. Friendsy is very intriguing. Though it doesn’t seem to have roots set in Laramie as of yet, I think that it could prove to be a very effective and promising app for those seeking companions. 

Overall, I’m not sure what any of my “research” actually means, but I seriously enjoyed prying into people’s personal lives and getting all the sexy details. So while this article doesn’t serve much purpose, I got to feel like Gossip Girl for a week and that is truly all that matters. XOXO

• apps
• dating
• her campus
• popular
• University of Wyoming