Described as “It’s like real life, but better”, you would imagine a gaming app similar to the Sims. But, for those of you who don’t know, Tinder is in fact a match-making app. Similar to a dating site, Tinder allows you to see a persons limited details and photos, and through this decide on whether they deserve to be swiped left (rejected) or right (accepted) and hope for a match. You are able to minimise the people you have access to by altering your discovery preferences, you can choose an age range, a distance preference and sex preference, male, female or both.
The way it’s described, it sounds tacky. It sounds like the perfect app for desperate people looking for love. Not many would admit to having the app, and use various excuses such as “I only downloaded it to try it” and “I just go on it when I’m bored”.
However, it is hard to deny that there have indeed been Tinder success stories. And really, if you really think about it, there are worst ways to find the one (or, perhaps the one for now). Here’s how Tinder can help you skip the small talk and hassle to find a long lasting relationship.
Physical attraction is important
As much as many of us want to pretend that looks don’t matter, they do. An element of physical attraction has to be a factor from the beginning. Tinder allows you to look through a couple of photos of your potential match before deciding on their swipe fate. Just like real life, many of us will take a good look at someone, and if there isn’t really spark there at all it is likely that we won’t pursue it. Tinder just gets rid of the awkwardness of telling someone they just don’t quite float your boat.
Depicting personality without small talk
Everyone has preferences. For many a lad that poses with his six pack out flexing his muscles is a turn on, and for others it’s an immediate rejection. The pictures you choose to post and the small bio can portray your personality in just enough detail for someone to make their mind up about you. Tinder cancels out the small talk. In a matter of seconds you can find out what a person looks like, if they take themselves too seriously, if they’re a family person, if they like animals, what university they go to, what they do for a living – giving you tons of knowledge to inform your decision. Tinder is proving to be a time saver, perfect for the busy body that hasn’t got time to go out on the hunt for love and engage in endless conversations with average people that fizzle out into nothing but disappointment and more loneliness.
Long distance vs around the corner
Tinder allows you to see how far away you are from someone. This element of the app, I’ll admit, is kind of creepy. I don’t like the idea of someone knowing exactly how many kilometres my house is from theirs. But for the people that don’t over-think the creepiness of the distance, this function is actually quite handy. If someone is at the other end of the country, or in a different country altogether, is it really worth starting anything? If they’re an hour or two away, and the conversation is particularly good, then it’s not going to take that much effort to travel. If it does turn sour, at least you won’t be running into them in Tesco’s. If you’re intent on meeting someone that lives in your town, for ease of communication then you’re able to alter your preferences to bring up potential matches that live near you. So get past the creepiness of the situation and use it to your advantage.
Who are your mutual friends?
To some people, a relationship will only work if their other half gets on with their friends. If they are already friends, then that’s a huge bonus! Tinder has got this covered as, when you connect to Facebook (don’t worry the app won’t post anything on your behalf or let your friends know you’re using it), it automatically calculates if you have any mutual friends with a potential match. So if the mutual friend count is zero, perhaps this one isn’t for you (unless of course you prefer someone who doesn’t know anyone you know and are after someone completely new).
So there you have it. Tinder seems to be a great app for finding a long lasting relationship. Cut out all the small talk, the awkwardness and the distance barriers and you are left with those that are most likely to be a match for you. Of course, this isn’t a promise that if you find someone that ticks all your boxes you’re going to live happily ever after, but it can improve your chances and save you time. Don’t be embarrassed to try Tinder, and don’t immediately eliminate the chance of a relationship with someone you’ve met on it. Move with the times and embrace the new mobile edition of internet dating! Good luck!
