Love at First Swipe…Kind of
Since spring is in the air and new flings are on the rise, I thought I’d discuss a modern way of dating: dating apps. Apps like Tinder and Bumble have become a craze within the past few years, making dating as easy as a click of a button…or rather a swipe left or right. No matter what type of relationship you’re looking for — from the forever kind to the short lived romance — there’s an app for that! Instead of providing my opinion about these apps, I thought I’d share a story with my own experience with dating apps.
Somehow my roommates convinced me that I should give dating apps a go and “put myself out there.” I reluctantly downloaded Tinder, and a week later I had my first coffee date. Before any judgments are made, I want to say that I wasn’t planning on going on any dates. However, this guy, let’s call him Derek, knew a mutual friend and so I thought he would be a safe bet.
Right before I left for the date one of my roommates said to me, “Jenna, the worst thing that could happen to you is that he could walk into the restaurant, see you, and then walk right on out.” She had a very good point.
I met Derek at the coffee shop; we greeted with a hug and grabbed a beverage. Instantly I could tell that Derek was nervous by the way he tapped his foot and sat awkwardly in his chair. However, the conversation was flowing and I was having a good time. He told me that he was a photographer who had just booked a trip to Europe for work, while I attempted to intrigue him with a mediocre science experiment I had done in lab. About halfway into the date, Derek caught me off guard. He reached into his pocket and said to me, “So, I had an idea that I thought might be fun.” Oh man, I thought, what is he going to say?
Derek pulled out a stack of conversation cards. Conversation cards…that he hand-selected!! Not only was I confused because I thought things were going well, but I was immediately turned off. So for the next hour or so I answered cheesy questions about my favorite inspirational quotes, who my role model is, what my biggest fear is …you get the picture. Needless to say, I deleted the app right when I got home and that was the last time I went on a Tinder date. Bless your heart, Derek.
Nevertheless, whether you’re in the mood to settle down, hook up, or something in between (i.e., cue cheesy conversation cards) — It might be time to give the phenomenon a try. As for me, I discovered that the only match I’ll be spending time with is this one:
Xoxo
Jenna