CK Allas

Tinder is a social media dating application that many people use as a modern-day hot-or-not. It enables the user to judge pictures of other Tinderers by swiping right if they like them or left if they do not. It is flirting that removes in person interaction, and despite being an unoriginal app, it has taken the world by surprise with its millions of profiles that are rated daily.

Why has this become a social norm? Tinder, along with many other social networking dating apps and sites like OKCupid or Grindr, changed the dating field and have taken it to a whole new level. In today’s society, most people are too lazy for, or simply can’t handle, human interaction and resort to technology to simplify it.

Tinder is one of the latest of these apps, and it has managed to overcome a hurdle in online dating: It is cool, modern, and quick. It glances at someone’s Facebook and gives a user a summary of the person, pictures and information about them included.

Tinder is used primarily to meet people for hook-ups due to the emphasis on appearance. The extent of getting to know someone on the app is looking at a paragraph about them and going through their pictures. The information on their profiles is usually derived from their Facebook, and the short descriptions are usually just self-glorification. It ends up becoming woefully informal and impersonal; they can talk about how great and amazing they are online, but we can’t see their true self or have an actual conversation.

Meeting people online isn’t completely bad. Many married couples today have met on the internet before. It’s a beautiful thing that people can find the one through the use of technology. The problem is, not everyone can do it. Each human is designed differently; if we all just used the internet to find someone, we’ll never see the potentials around us.

Try leaving your phone at home for the day. Can you last? Human interaction is vital whether you admit it or not. We crave attention and social networks and apps like Facebook, Tinder and Twitter give us just that, proof we are alive and there are people out there who care. The knowledge that people out there give you attention then keeps you from being lonely.

Could you give someone the same attention and devotion in person like you do on the internet? If the answer is most likely, you’re stuck in a dating problem as well. To be with someone means giving time and devotion to them. It means understanding them. Not understanding just their outer personality, but understanding who they are deep down to the core. You can’t get that from social media. You can’t get a connection with someone without physically talking and hearing one another. The emotions that our voices can give are what make and break many parts of our lives.

No matter how much you text or message someone, they won’t get the full heartfelt message without hearing it from your own voice instead of reading it in their inner voice.

Go out there and talk to people, face to face. It’s scary to do, yes, but at least you can say that you gave them emotion rather than a blank text devoid of feelings.