Launched two years ago, Tinder is a matchmaking app for iPhone and Android that uses GPS to locate possible long-term relationships or last-minute hookups in the user’s geographic area.
With a swipe of the thumb, users are presented with a stack of potential partners. They can then read the bios of people they’re interested in or pass them by. Users can also set the app to filter results by distance, age and gender.
Despite the potential for using the app just for anonymous hook-ups, Anthony Hawkins, a former Tinder user, says that there’s more to it than just sex.
“Tinder is not just made for sex hook-ups, it’s made to meet nearby people,” Hawkins said. “What you do after you meet is all up to you and the other person.”
Hawkins, a criminal justice student at Southwest Community College, recently got into a relationship with a girl he discovered on the app. He has since deleted the app.
But not all of the stories have a happy ending, says Malissa Hodges, a junior at Southwest Community College.
“Most guys on that site are utter weirdos and freaks,” Hodges said. “Granted, there are cute guys that are on there, but let’s be honest, most of them have not so good intentions. Like some, right out the gate, use the most sexual pickup lines I’ve ever heard.”
Eventually the app became too much for Hodges.
“I’ve met up with one guy that was a weirdo, so I stopped using it, but damn if the pickup lines and creepers I get matched up with provide me with more entertainment than most things.”
Users of the app sometimes get more than they ever bargained for—like Malcolm Scott, an aspiring motion picture writer.
“I met up with this girl that was pretty cute, but you know with Tinder you still got to be a little careful,” Scott said. “It started good. The date went normal; drinks and laughs were shared, but when we went back to my place to my place she turned into a stone cold freak.”
While “stone cold freaks” are desirable for some men, Scott wasn’t so enthusiastic.
“Out of nowhere she began to hit me, and at this point I had to stop,” Scott said. “I had never seen anything like it—she was a full-fledged dominatrix.”
When she pulled out the whips, Scott had to stop her and ask her nicely to leave, and hope that he never saw her again. Scott said that he has never had a Tinder hookup quite like that, and will probably go back to a more conventional way of looking for women.
People sign up for the service and download the app for all manner of reasons. Some are looking for love while others want some cheap thrills. However, the way the app works has drawn some fire. According to TechCrunch, the Tinder app is criticized extensively for its “appearance based match-making process,” which many label as shallow, superficial and vain.
But it’s not all horror stories. One anonymous Tinder user explained how they had a fulfilling relationship until they decided to break it off.
“I felt that she was going into a completely different direction, and I didn’t want her to stop pursuing her dreams, not to mention she was way too good and pure for me,” they said. “In the end, I was going into an opposite direction than her. It just goes to show that no matter if you met the person on online or not, people can connect through mutual interests or differences that create memories and moments that last a lifetime.”
