As an individual who has often succumbed to online dating and isn’t shy of using a right swipe or two, I often find myself asking what is my motivation to use these online dating apps? The rise of media and technology has resulted in online dating become the norm – especially amongst university students. Tinder, Grinder, and Bumble to name a few!
We often hear our friends complaining about how they have matched with an absolute ‘peng ting’ on Tinder, but when they go to message this individual they get no response back. Why? Well A) They actually might not be interested anymore, or, B) They are using Tinder for the ego boost. Honestly let’s be real here, there is one thing that you can’t deny, swiping right for someone who you think is attractive, and getting that push notification that you’ve matched with them would probably send everyone’s ego into overdrive. But what does this say about dating in the 21st Century?
Statistics show that only 29% of Tinder users have ever decided to meet up with another user and that only 4% of Tinder users are looking for a relationship. Eeeeek. For the majority, it appears that the dating app is only used to meet the demands of their ‘casual hook-up’ needs and for an ego boost. The above statistics illustrate that dating in the 21st Century is vague and quite confusing as with less than 5% of users intending to date for a relationship and 29% looking for something casual, what are the rest of the 67% doing?
Dating in 2018 is full of contradictions. We want to go out of our way to impress and be impressed, but often we find ourselves settling for ‘Netflix and Chill’. Dating apps have arguably conditioned us to become unattached by talking to multiple individuals at once. The term ‘talking’ is also confusing because it’s an attempt to get attached, yet you’re still able to talk to other people, but for some, it means that you are kind of in a relationship? Baffling. And when you’re no longer interested, instead of letting them know, you resort to ghosting, where you just ignore them until they get the hint. Online Dating as a millennial often feels like the apocalypse is nigh, but we must not lose all hope, our King or Queen might be our next swipe right, or even better the cutie you spot in the FND Queue.
Kes Browne
Illustration by Gabriella Azanu
