In these past few years, Tinder has been a very popular app for dating and hook-ups, especially for college students. Sometimes, Tinder can be useful, but it can also lead to some interesting and bitter situations. I, myself, used to have Tinder, but after three months I deleted it, only to reinstall the app again just to get a taste of the whole Tinder on campus experience. Regardless of what you are looking for with Tinder, I have some useful tips to give based on my own experiences (and some of my friends’)!
The messenger on Tinder can be a pain, but it is definitely useful to start a conversation or exchange numbers. And definitely try not to judge your matches (too hard) by their profile pictures.
You don’t have to message every single one of your matches. It can be a waste of time to try to talk to more than 50 people you don’t know. I thought that 30 matches were more than enough, but now I have ended up with over 100. The truth is, I only start small talk with five matches and see how it goes from there.
Just give a little hint (without being too obvious) that you and your match have some similar interests such as sports, music, TV shows, movies and hobbies. Also, be open to some interests that may be totally opposite of yours – who knows, you could discover a new hobby…and a new match!
I have seen many of my matches and my friend’s matches doing this to get attention, which is not a great way to impress your match. People may end up thinking that you’re desperate or arrogant. Just be yourself, a forced situation usually does not end up well.
Back to the first tip about engaging in conversation; a friendly greeting or a really funny catchphrase can work perfectly. Many of my matches randomly started conversations with me because of the interesting description in my profile. It is a relaxing way to break into the comfort zone, but please don’t catcall as your icebreaker.
Please, do not be creepy on Tinder and do things like stalk every single profile picture on Facebook. I had an awful experience with one of my former matches. He took a screen-shot of every single detail of our Tinder conversations and sent them to me on Facebook Messenger, which I found weird and desperate.
This is very important when you’re using Tinder. Be clear with your matches, whether you want to make new friends, are looking for a relationship, or searching for a friends-with-benefits arrangement. DO NOT say “I don’t know,” even if you are uncertain. Feel it out, and when you do know what you are looking for, let it be known.
This links back to the previous tip: it is SO important to be upfront. Don’t lead your matches on or the situation can take a turn for the worse. Remember, these are real people with actual feelings, so if you’re just using your matches for a quick confidence boost, they may actually be interested in you and deserve to know the truth.
Tinder is a fun distraction if you get bored with your usual activities on campus. I only open Tinder once in a while to check out what is going on with my matches. One of them even told me that he started dating a girl from Tinder, and they’ve been together for a few months now. So while Tinder can certainly be a great resource to find whatever it is you’re looking for, just remember that it’s not you’re only option – meeting the perfect someone can be totally unplanned and unexpected.
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