With the rise of social media, the way people have come to interact with others has dramatically shifted. All contacts, friends and family are at reach with a click of a button, and the same goes for dating. Gone are the days of mystery and excitement in dating due to our addiction to our phones and social media. We can’t be anywhere or do anything without aimlessly scrolling through Facebook or Twitter, and this is having an effect on the way we communicate with others. Today, 1 in 5 relationships begin online, one of the most popular formats for dating being Tinder.

So, what is Tinder?

Tinder is a simple online app that uses Facebook information to create a profile. Users can upload up to 6 photos alongside their name (forename only!), age and small bio. The app then uses your location to find potential ‘matches’, if you ‘like’ them swipe right and to ‘pass’, swipe left. If someone likes you back, its a match, allowing you to privately message. It’s as simple as that.

There’s nothing to it. It’s effortless. All you have to do is upload a picture, Facebook does most of it for you.” – Alex (Tinder user).

However, despite its ease and seemingly harmlessness, Tinder has not necessarily revolutionised the art of dating. There is plenty of controversy surrounding the dating app, and I’ve come up with just a few of the many reasons why Tinder just isn’t worth it.

Looks over Personality

At the moment, there are 15 million single people in the UK, and 50% of them are looking for a serious relationship. From this, it is fair to believe that singletons are not fussy when it comes to the appearance of potential dates, but that’s just not the case. The whole premise of Tinder, is the fact that its a fast-paced app that rapidly produces profile after profile, to which users act on intuition. Unfortunately this means that your profile pictures matter.

It’s quite shallow. You’re swiping on looks with no insight into any kind of personality, apart from a one-liner in a bio.” – Elliot (Tinder user).

The swipe feature even gives off a gaming vibe, dehumanising the dating aspect. Thanks to social media, appearance has become the most important attribute in the dating game.

Pop up? Or not.

Once matched, it is unlikely that you will partake in any kind of engaging conversation. For some, Tinder is merely an ego booster and about liking as many people as possible. A match is all you need and actual communication hardly ever takes place – 66% of people admitted they have matched with someone but did not pursue it.

No one wants to make the first move in any dating situation. So most of the time no one really talks.” – Joe (Tinder user).

Users hide behind their online accounts and are unsure how to communicate with people. Tinder is just another example of how the internet and our phones have affected our abilities to have real conversations with real people.

Location

As I mentioned earlier, Tinder uses GPS to locate potential matches near you. Whilst this is helpful in finding people who aren’t hundreds of miles away, it also means that the majority of the people that pop up, are people you know.

Tinder, unsurprisingly, is also one of those apps you don’t particularly want everyone knowing you’re on. Regardless of what you’re using it for, it has a desperate and ‘hook-up’ reputation and popping up on an old friends’ screen is just down right embarrassing.

Unfortunately, we live in an age where the dating game is not so romantic anymore. Instead, it is quite literally that. A game. Tinder is only adding to the huge lists of reasons as to why social media is affecting real-life situations for the worse. And whilst some may find love on the infamous Tinder app, it’s not exactly the most affectionate ‘how we first met’ story.

Trust me… I speak from experience.