If anyone else would have sent me the message my partner sent me, I don’t think I would’ve responded.
Most people on Tinder are looking for one thing and that’s to hookup, and although there’s nothing wrong with that, you can’t help but roll your eyes when you get the same old message about wanting to hookup. After being on the app for over a year, I wasn’t expecting to meet anyone through the platform.
To this day I’m not entirely sure what it was that drew me to my current boyfriend’s message, but I’m glad that I did respond. Originally being from Michigan, he was home for winter break and was set to return to California for school, the day after we met. So it’s safe to say that neither of us expected our mini date to really go anywhere. Boy, were we wrong.
The days following we spent all free time our time texting one another nonstop, both having wished we would’ve met a few days earlier so that we could’ve spent more time in person. Before we knew it he was buying a flight back to Michigan after our first FaceTime call.
He stayed with me for the weekend and from the moment I picked him up from the airport it had all felt so natural. It didn’t feel like he was some stranger who was visiting me but instead it felt like we were living together. Our relationship progressed really quickly and we knew it would be difficult because of the distance but we knew what we wanted. So after 14 days of knowing each other, we officially started dating.
It’s weird to look back at how we first met now, but finding relationships through Tinder or other dating apps is something that is occurring more and more, especially with COVID-19. The old “conventional” ways of meeting a partner has changed, with different restrictions, regulations and lockdowns, we’ve been stuck inside with not much else to do and not many options in how to meet potential partners.
Fortune.com has reported that activity on dating apps has surged during the pandemic with Tinder recording its highest number of swipes on a single day: 3 billion, OkCupid saw a 700% increase in dates during March – May of 2020 and video calls on Bumble increased by 70%.
Similar to those going on first dates virtually, we’ve been able to stay connected, despite being 2,237 miles away from one another. Thanks to the use of FaceTime and other virtual platforms that have arisen due to COVID-19, we’re “together” all the time and go through our daily motions as if we were with one another.
It seems that the stigma behind online dating is changing everyday, according to a study by the Pew Research Center, 54% of those surveyed said that relationships that begin on a dating site or app are just as successful as those that begin in person.
I don’t think that you should go on Tinder or other apps with the mindset that you’re going to find the love of your life. If you do, you might set yourself up for failure or even miss it when it could be right in front of you. It’s important to go into it with an open mindset because sometimes the people you least expect might be the right one for you. Also you’re most likely not going to meet the one for you right away. Without a doubt you’re going to encounter people who only want to hookups or people who want
to play games.
Another big portion of it is the person behind the match. You can go on a few successful Tinder dates but if after some time you don’t feel like you connect with the person or can’t see a future with them they might not be the one for you. Because in my experience, it is true what they say about relationships; when you know, you know.
Don’t be so quick to dismiss Tinder or any of the other dating apps you never know what might happen, I certainly didn’t. But overall, be patient when looking for your future partner. They’re not just going to be another chapter in your life that flies by, they’re going to be the whole book that you spend the rest of your life reading.