Can a simple mobile app help you finally meet your soulmate?
By Henry Adeleye on November 7, 2014
If you've been looking for Mr. or Mrs. Right, but all you seem to find is Mr. or Mrs. Right Now, there's a tiny voice somewhere in the universe that's calling out to you, offering to help. Actually, this voice is an app. And it's not really tiny, at all. It's called Tinder. And it's the next big thing for people who want to meet other people and hope those other people want to meet them, too. And as a plus, it's all done online, so you don't have to worry as much about venturing outside where you could potentially be on one side or the other of the next catcalling video. But, is Tinder just another online dating site, or is it something truly revolutionary? Only time will tell.
So, how does it work? It's relatively simple, actually. Tinder pulls data from your Facebook page to create a profile with your name, age, photos of your choice, and any pages you "like". It then uses your location to match you up with other Tinder users near you. Where it beats traditional dating sites and applications is the simplicity of choosing someone you may want to get to know better. You just view their pictures and swipe to the left, to the left (Beyonce style) if you don't like them, or to the right if you do. If both of you swipe right, you will be able to message the other person to get to know him or her better and potentially go on a date.
Does it work? According to a Rolling Stone article, Tinder can take credit for more than 2,000 engagements and weddings. Another article in Marie Claire shows that Tinder has over 50 million active users who check their profiles more than 11 times a day. So, they're doing something right, to say the least. In the world of dating, you never want to rule anything out. Some people are still hesitant about the stigma of online dating -- and to be clear, Tinder is online dating -- but at the same time, its Instagram-esque aura helps to dissolve that stigma away.
Will it work for you, though? That's the biggest question. One of the most difficult things to do when you're in the dating world is to find out if someone you're interested in is also interested in you. Tinder makes that process extremely short. You show interest in people the same way you would when you're out, by judging a book by its cover. Shallow? Yes. The truth? Yes. The only thing about that is, like is the case when you're out, most people are only after one thing. But sifting through that, you may be able to find your match, which I just realized means Tinder is just like dating in the real world and isn't really better. Okay, so maybe Tinder can't save dating. Maybe it's the Uber of dating. Uber didn't take away the need for hitching a ride. It just made the process more convenient and put it all on your smartphone. So, while you may not have to deal with musty cab drivers who lack chivalry, you still have to deal with the fact that your driver could take you on a wild police chase with you in the backseat, crying helplessly.