by Meg Sanborn
During her strenuous classes at Chapman University, sophomore communication studies major Lauren Jeworski can be found fumbling around on an application on her phone.
But she’s not furiously tapping away at a game – she’s making connections on Tinder.
Tinder is a popular application where people can “swipe” left or right after looking at photos of another Tinder user. If both people swipe right on each other, they are matched and can have a conversation with one another. The app is mostly used amongst college students looking for an easy way to meet and casually hook up with people.
“We actually hit it off,” Jeworski said of a potential love interest who she found via the application.
“So, I guess we’re somewhat talking?” she said of the status of the relationship.
“Somewhat talking” is not the extent of what some people do with one another on the app. Tinder is challenging the dating norms of making romantic connections through conversation and dates. The application is making connections solely based off of physical chemistry, and allowing for the conversation to come later. However, this method of choosing matches can be unreliable.
Nicole Reyes, a senior biology major, has made several attempts to turn her Tinder matches into dates, to no avail. Reyes has dealt with one of the many downfalls of the application – deception.
“He was this super cute guy,” she said, “but he comes to pick me up and is sporting a full on beard. I was so confused.”
Lying is easy to do on Tinder, and it can be difficult to decipher what is the truth based on the very basic conversations that are being had. Who knows what the person on the other side of the application is really trying to say. Anything goes on Tinder – and this is what makes the application both appealing and terrifying.
The freedom that the application gives its users allows for a variety of conversations to be had. This, of course, mainly results in vulgar icebreakers from mostly men that astound the female population.
Freshman environmental science major Niki Russo has been on the receiving end of some of these crude messages while on the hunt for matches.
“Most of my Tinder moments are hilarious,” she said about her conversations on the application. “I only go on [Tinder] because it’s just so funny.”
Due to aspects of deception and a dangerous amount of freedom of speech, it seems difficult to actually find and maintain a true romantic connection on Tinder.
Mark Luburic, sophomore music major, understands the infatuation with the app.
“You go on, find someone hot, talk a little bit, maybe meet up, and then you hook up,” he said. “There are no strings attached – it’s cool.”
No strings attached may sound alluring, but it can also lead to confusion and often failure of these superficial Tinder relationships.
Maybe that’s all that Tinder has to offer. It’s unlike any other dating portal due to its extreme casual vibe and lack of responsibility to remain truthful. Time will tell to see if this way of interacting with other individuals based off of physical connection can lead to a withstanding bond.
