Dating in the 21st century: Tinder creates a space to meet, hook-up, chat, laugh and anything in between

“:)”

“Hey so what’s your story?”

“You are really cute. Like in a genuine way not a tinder way”

“Hi! You’re really cute. We should hang out sometime!”

“So I sort of have a crush on (you)?”

“Steven Hawking, me, Hitler. You have to choose. Mary one, kill one, fuck one. Go!”

“Hey ms tinderella!”

“You look like you need some love”

“Woah, yes please.”

“I want to blow in ya butthole and make your ears wiggle!”

“I want to be on you”

“I fuck you”

In November, a friend of mine showed me this funny app while we were eating lunch.

You are presented with a picture of a person of whatever gender you are attracted to and you can press a button indicating that you think they are cute or you don’t.

If a person that you decide is cute also thinks you are cute, you are matched and have the option of messaging them.

Have you figured out what it is yet? I imagine many of you reading this, nodding your heads with a smirk on your face.

If not, that’s okay, you’re not missing out. It’s called Tinder, a ‘dating’ app that has been slowly picking up popularity among an alarmingly wide age range of 18-50+ year olds (age is but a number, right?), and evidently in both the U.S. and Canada.

There are many themes I have notice in my experience on Tinder: hockey players, guys with fishing pictures, servicemen, and Puget Sound students. Yes. I have come across a few of you, boys. It seems that the dating scene, hook-up culture, and just plain meeting new people on this campus has become unsatisfying for many students, including myself, causing us to turn to technology and the people within a 1-100 mile radius.

Knowing several people who have Tinder, I wanted to find out why some of them had this app.

The trend of why they have it or why people in general may have it was for an ego-boost, which, if we’re going to be honest, is pretty spot on. “When you get “matched” with someone who is clearly hotter than you, it makes you feel good,” one of my friends said.

Another very honest friend who said they would not date someone they met on Tinder, but would casually hook up with someone said “I think the point of Tinder is rather clear, isn’t it?”

So what does this say about us? Are we putting ourselves in danger by meeting random people we don’t know at all, materializing relationships through artificial means, or utilizing the tools we have to adjust to the twenty-first century?

A friend of mine said something that got me thinking: “I think people are on Tinder for several different reasons. Some people go on it as an ego boost, some might be frustrated with “real-life” dating and use the app to find a relationship, and some probably look for an easy hook up. I think it’s a sort of unnatural or inauthentic means for people to meet; people have a false sense of confidence when they have the safety net of a screen in front of them. Because of this, I find it hard to believe that genuine connections happen often. The notion of online dating detracts from the romantic (and perhaps overly optimistic) idea of meeting someone organically and forming a meaningful relationship over time. It’s weird.”

While we consider our generation’s alternatives to natural interactions, here are a few more funny messages people’s matches have said to them:

“Why haven’t I bent you over the table yet?”

“I think you’re cute… if we were in kindergarten I would definitely be the bully who smudged your finger painting :) how’s it going [name omitted?]”

“You got big lips, I bet you have a big dick too “

“Hey sunshine would you be interested in getting together and fucking right now? Because I find you very sexy/attractive and I think we both would get a lot of enjoyment from me being inside you”

So, if you’re looking for a laugh, a date, or someone new to talk to, join the movement and download Tinder. You really won’t be bored, but maybe a little disappointed.