“It’s a match.” The words fill your screen and you feel a little bit of excitement over your mutual attraction. This is online dating taken to a new level.
Tinder is an app on the iPhone that allows users to flip through a series of pictures of other users in their area and either skip them or like them. If the user you like also liked you, you are alerted that you have a match.
From there, you can message each other and sometimes it can lead to real life relationships.
Danielle Stranderg, a senior exercise physiology major, matched with someone on Tinder and after messaging back and forth for a few days, she decided to meet up with him in person.
“I felt a little weird about it, but we both ended up at the same party and it was cool at first,” she said. “He was outgoing and made friends with all of my friends there.”
After the initial meeting, the pair hung out one other time, Stranderg said.
“He wouldn’t stop trying to talk to me after that and it was a little too much,” she said.
Stranderg decided the relationship wasn’t for her and deleted her Tinder app. However, she is considering re-downloading it.
“I probably wouldn’t start talking to someone on it again but it’s fun to look at all the people who are on there,” she said. “It’s really entertaining.”
For Sara Miner, a senior psychology major, downloading Tinder was a trendy thing to do that she thought would spice up her dating life.
“I found myself getting excited when I would get a match and the option of skipping guys almost gave me a sense of empowerment” she said. “It’s like a cop out for flirting with boys.”
After meeting someone she liked while messaging each other, Miner met up with him while hanging out with mutual friends one night.
“We mutually approached the awkward initial introduction, but we got along for the rest of the evening,” she said. “It has been on-going for two weeks now and we went on a few dates.”
While Tinder is an interesting way to meet people, traditional dating might be a better route in the long run, Miner said.
“I think a real life first encounter is most beneficial in meeting someone you’d like to date and actually pursue,” she said.
Tinder may help out those looking for love who are on the shyer side, though, she said.
“The app is taking technological interaction to another level of ambiguity,” Miner said.
Kayla Smith can be reached at [email protected].
