Dating apps and services have taken over many modern companion-seeking souls, but is this a good thing, bad thing, or is it just different?
There are many arguments for many varying views on the issue and all of them seem to be valid. After all, who’s to say that what is right for one can’t be wrong for another and vice versa?
Moving a little further into that concept, there are probably more dating apps than you realize, each one seeming to offer a slightly different utility. There are a few that are clearly just for casual encounters and regardless of your moral view on casual sex, this honestly seems like the most ethical way to go about the less-romance-more-catharsis approach to dating, but it begs the question for the rest of the fish in the sea seeking real connection:
Does it work?
Does anyone actually meet someone worth falling for by reading pre-prepared lists of qualities or interests we sit around and select for the world to associate with us?
I mean, arguably what makes you you is the stuff you don’t do or say on purpose. Isn’t it the people that really love us that notice all the little things that we, ourselves can’t see? Who’s to say your soulmate doesn’t look funny to you at first, but grows more beautiful over time? What if the perfect human being for you, absolutely meant to be, hates your favorite bands. Or TV shows (you monsters)?
You may have already swiped left on a Princess Bride scenario because they didn’t like Drake.
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I do apologize to anyone out there who finds comparisons of erroneous personal data to be the pinnacle of romantic ecstasy, but to those individuals I would highly recommend walking up to someone pretty and asking them to lunch.
Using my own experiential data, I can freely admit that I do know a couple of, well, couples that seem well-adjusted and functional whom happened to have met on a dating service, but I would be hard-pressed to even lightly refer to these couples as “in love.” Having a roommate you split a bedroom with is not being in love. No matter what your parents might tell you.
I’m sure real sparks do fly on Ttinder from time to time, inevitably, but every single real-life love story I have ever heard came from awkward accidents, messes, conflicting opinions and embarrassing mistakes. So if you’re looking for love, just be real. Be you. As awful as it feels. It won’t someday when the person who has always wanted to meet you can tell exactly who you are.
Because you’ve been that person all along.
And if you’re still hell-bent on digital dating, I highly suggest starting a blog with all the right hashtags. The chances of meeting someone who genuinely cares about the same things as you is much greater if you are actively doing those things.
If you have a passion in life, the community around that passion (digital or otherwise) is a perfect place to find a connection.
Brian Yoder
Reporter