Most people in their late teens and early 20s turn to applications such as Tinder and Bumble to meet new people. The intended purpose of these apps is to make dating easier. Every profile has a few pictures and normally a short bio describing the person. There is a number of problems with this method of dating , but first and foremost the main issue is that people are on these apps for many different reasons.

There is a low number of people on these apps who are actually looking for a relationship. When it comes to college age people, dating culture is very complicated. If you are looking for a relationship, it is quite known that dating apps are not the way to go. That being said, most people state their intentions in their profile and mainly state weather or not they are looking for something serious. While I do personally know people with success stories, I have heard many stories from friends about their experiences with dating apps and most of them ended in disappointment.

Dating apps often damage people's confidence if they are not matching with as many people as they hope to, or have been on the app for a long time and have never gotten anything out of it. The issue with this is that it is extremely difficult to read someone based on a few pictures and a short bio. There are so many different people on these apps who set the bar extremely high as far as looks, because everyone has access to photo editors. It is important to remember that the number of swipes you have ultimately does not matter. The people viewing your profile have never met you, and most likely do not know you well enough to know if they would be interested in you or not.

Lying is extremely easy to do on dating apps. People will do absolutely anything they can to grab your attention and rope you in. This goes for both men and women, but men primarily will say anything they can to get a girl to hang out with them. The entire process of having a conversation on a dating app is a mental game. You are trying to figure each other out, while trying to keep the conversation interesting. It may start to feel as though you are not sounding like yourself because you are caught up in the dynamic of the app. Reading profiles and deciphering which ones are phony and which ones are 100 percent real is truly an art form. It is definitely a skill that needs to be acquired when looking for a potential partner. You should be able to see the legitimacy of a profile just from what the person is wearing in their pictures.

Going on an actual date with someone from a dating app can be dangerous. I have had friends share their location with me, or ask me to follow them on their date just in case something goes wrong. You have no idea who you may be meeting up with, and there is a chance they may try to hurt you or put you in a bad situation. While it is important to experience a spontaneous and potentially risky date, it is equally as it important to take precautions when doing so.

If you have never used a dating app and are planning to, know that the expectations the apps are selling are not exactly realistic. More importantly, if you are trying to find a serious relationship you may not want to use a dating app at all. Though it is possible, there are better ways to meet people and reach out to them. Utilizing Instagram DMs is a very effective alternative.

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