Dating apps have taken the world by storm, prompting a backlash of withering opinions and valid concerns. What implications does a world of looks-based dating bring with it? Has finding a partner turned into a videogame? Is it safe? Detractors have been quick to label dating-apps as another symptom of a shallow, image-obsessed culture.
Questions around safety and self-worth are important and should be addressed. However, viewing dating apps as a symptom of cultural malaise is reductive, regressive and ignores how this technology can be helpful for many people. Let’s examine how online dating can improve our experiences of meeting people and finding the relationships that suit our needs.
Connecting Through Similar Interests
We’ve all experienced the awkwardness of conversation running dry. Whilst having similar interests is not necessarily a gatekeeper for what makes a good partner, having things to discuss keeps the conversation flowing.
Differing opinions makes for good discussion, but if someone is uninterested in your passions, you’re not going to get very far. Dating apps provide you with the opportunity to clearly state what you’re about before having to engage with people who don’t get you.
Finding The Relationship You Want
If you’re looking for a serious partner, you’ll be able to easily avoid people who’re just looking for a casual fling. Even without explicitly stating it, you’ll be able to quickly determine what someone’s intentions are. From the images they choose to how they spend their time and what their messages are like, you’ll know what you’re getting into pretty quickly. If you feel that strong attraction then you can build on that by using human pheromones to keep them interested and drawn to you, it can build on that relationship more and strengthen those feelings.
On the flip side, it’s easy to avoid those looking for their future spouse if that’s not really where life is taking you right now.
Online Dating Provides An Easy Out
If you meet someone at a bar (or even amongst friends) can be an immediately pressurized situation. When your first interaction with someone is face-to-face, it can be tricky to exit without feeling impolite, even if they’re boring or aggressive.
Online dating gives you the option to leave a chat with little repercussion. Tinder dates can still go south, but you have more time to decide whether hanging out with this person is something you want to do. If the person you’re talking to is as interested in meaningful engagement, they shouldn’t be upset by this outcome.
Modern Dating Is Hard
Between varying work schedules and our post-pandemic sensitivity to face-to-face interaction, online dating is here to stay, just like the top paying slots. Dismissing online dating as something shallow and worthless is failing to realize how many people you could miss out on meeting when being at the same place at the same time is no longer a barrier.
Dating apps provide a meeting place for people who might be too shy to engage with someone in public. For people who work during the evenings or on weekends or are their own boss. For people who are looking for something specific in a partner. It might work for you too.