The first time I ever heard about Tinder, I was grabbing dinner with one of my closest guy friends when he brought up this new app he uses to get girls. From the way he described it, it sounded more to me like a Craigslist escort service than a dating app. For someone like myself, who is in a long-term relationship and has no need for Tinder, the conversation almost seemed like another language to me.
I was blown away that something so impersonal and, frankly, awkward could make such a huge dent in the dating world -- if you could even call it that anymore. When you look at other dating websites, you input a lot of information about yourself: hobbies, interests, religious beliefs, goals and aspirations. When it comes to Tinder, you have a few pictures and a short bio. There are so many options, you end up with a shopping cart that would practically wipe out your bank account.
So, how does this correlate with dating? Professor of psychology David Buss, explains the abundance of women leads to false expectations for guys in their dating circle.
While women may use Tinder to meet guys and go on dates, it seems as though men using the app are simply there for hookups and sex. Jo Sales' article touches upon the lack of boundaries the online dating culture, with apps like Tinder, has exposed. Just look at Instagram pages like Tinder Nightmares, where guys have zero shame or respect for women they message. The issue lies within the detached experience Tinder provides. So often, girls feel the need to have other people reinforce their positive feelings about themselves, they go so far as to objectify themselves.
When you add together insecure females with guys who are ready to pounce on just about anything, you're bound to have a messy outcome. The real problem lies within the crossover of hookup apps and dating apps. They have become almost one in the same, and because of this, the art of dating has become much like a joke. Jovo Jovanovic. With an app like Tinder, everything is impersonal.
