Survival Mode: How To Champion 3 Of The Most Popular Dating Apps
It can be easy to find yourself on some crazy online dating sites and apps. With so many to choose from, you never really know what you're going to get.
Here's a little bit of insight on what you might encounter when you join these digital dating communities, and how you can maintain your dignity while on them:
1. Tinder
What it's all about:
If love is a battlefield, ladies, then Tinder is the trenches. Only the strongest can withstand the barrage of dick pics and (strangely creative) propositions for sex that one will encounter on this app.
If these guys took the time they used coming up with these “sit on my face” witticisms, and put it toward actually wooing women, the world would be a much better place.
Now, if you’re looking for love on Tinder, you need to be able to play the waiting game. In my rough estimate, maybe 25 percent of the guys on this app want more than to see you naked.
Tinder is great if you want to have playful banter with cute strangers, want an ego boost or are new to an area.
How to keep your dignity:
Keeping your dignity on Tinder requires you to know that some of the guys will try to get to you, especially the ones you’ve rejected or didn’t message back.
I’ve started trying this thing I call, "the old time-y business man," where I bargain with guys who start out really gross. For example, say the Tinder match of your dreams messages you saying, “Butt sex?” Bummer (pun intended). Are you going to just let him go?
No. You "old time-y business man" that dude.
Give him a counter offer. I usually start off strong in the other direction. “Counter Offer: Seeing 'Sleepless In Seattle' together.” Obviously, you’re joking. But for whatever reason, this seems to bring the guys back to being human beings.
I’ve had some pretty respectable conversations with matches after we came to an agreement.
Also, avoid telling your coworkers that you’re on Tinder. I didn’t do this, and now I’m known as the Tinder date girl at work. No one wants to be Tinder date girl.
Keep in mind to be safe as well. I always meet in public, and have a friend or family member know where I am.
2. OkCupid
What it's all about:
Two good things, right off the bat with this site: People are actually looking for relationships and it’s free. You can justify to yourself that it’s not that bad that you’re on a dating site because at least you’re not paying for it.
Something that’s also cool is that you can see what percentage of a match you are with someone before he or she talks to you. The only catch is you have to fill out a ton of questions.
It’s kind of like taking a BuzzFeed quiz that’s over 100 questions long. I would not recommend this site to anyone who’s not positive he or she wants to be in a relationship.
A huge con to this is you can’t “swipe left” on anyone like you can on Tinder. I ended up deleting my profile because it seemed like everyone was really serious about either wanting to sleep with me, or wanting to date the sh*t out of me.
Don’t get me wrong; I was flattered. But some of the messages also creeped me out.
How to keep your dignity:
In order to keep your dignity on OkCupid, you need to know what you want in a partner. There are some super cool dudes on there, and there are some crazies.
It’s the trail mix of dating sites. You just have to look out for the raisins.
3. Match.com
What it's all about:
I’m going to group most dating sites that you would have to pay for in this category. The best way I can describe this site is this: If Tinder is Charmander, Match.com is Charizard. It’s like all the other dating applications on steroids.
It’s like filling out an intense job application, where the job outcome is being a wife. Match is very thorough, and asks questions you wouldn’t expect in order to help you find someone you’re really going to be compatible with.
Again, this is a pretty intense place to go for dating, so you need to be ready for a long-term commitment. You also need to be willing to put in thoughtful, honest answers. It takes work.
OkCupid was all about multiple choice, but Match is all about essay questions.
How to keep your dignity:
People are cool hearing about your Tinder dates, but get a little weirded out when you mention Match. It’s almost as if they’re thinking, “I had no idea she was that lonely.”
The way to keep your dignity on Match is to remember that the ultimate goal is your happiness. Who cares if Jenny in accounting with three kids doesn’t search online for a significant other.
She also doesn’t get that Candy Crush invites make you the most hated person on Facebook.
I tried all of these sites out and didn’t find any "deal-breaker" problems with them. You will meet jerks, but that happens in the real world too. It just depends on how much commitment you want to give to these sites.
I ended up deleting my profiles because I got overwhelmed meeting so many people so quickly. Turns out, I still want to be single for a while. Which is perfectly fine, too.
