The Apps

Are you on the apps?

"You’ve gotta be on the apps. You’re not on the apps!?" Yes- that was the response from everyone when I told them that I have never been on dating apps. Of course, I’ve heard of the typical Tinder, Hinge, and POF. But I’ve never actually made a profile and participated… well that changed quickly. Someone instantly grabbed my phone and navigated to the app store. She picked my photos, answered questions, and within 5mins, I was a part of the online dating world. I was always intrigued by online dating but just knew that wasn’t my style. I still meet people the traditional way- in person. I did tell them I was dating, but clearly it was nothing too serious. Many people had stories of meeting their wives and husbands from the apps. I’d like to think that I’ve met really cool contenders in person but they were just not meant for me in the long run. I’ve always thought that online dating was for people that were shy or didn’t have much luck with finding decent people in person. I’ve never been shy and I meet entirely too many people in person. Another reason why I’ve been so turned off to dating apps is that the majority of the people I know who use them, only use them for hookups. And that’s 100% not on my radar. I never thought people take dating apps seriously or serious enough to get something real out of it. I’m not going to say the platform they picked for me but they showed me how to navigate around. I felt like an old person learning how to use Facebook for the first time. And to be quite honest, I was eager to swipe left or right. I’ve never actually done that before.

For me, I’m big on personality and how you act for me to want to spend time with you. A few photos aren’t enough for me except an “oh this one is cute”. And that’s it. I’d be perfectly fine with going the rest of my life without seeing that person again. So how does one make it from a photo on an app to a date in real life? I think it takes adventure, bravery and boredom. But hey what do I know?