How Do I Know Which Dating App is Right for Me?

Did you just have yet another lonely weekend? Let’s work on changing that. Online dating has always been an interesting concept to me.  When this concept was first introduced (in the early 2000s, and maybe before that) if you met someone “online” it was frowned upon.  Or at least it was where I came from.  How could you not meet someone in real life? There was a shame and a stigma attached to online dating that no longer exists.  Now, this might be the only way to meet people. I am currently in both a long-term relationship and a long distance relationship.  Which means I couldn’t find someone that I liked who lived near me.  And that’s true.  Online dating meant that I could widen my search and find the man of my dreams.  I think its unrealistic and even a bit naive to assume you’ll meet someone who lives in your city.

That said, online dating apps change quickly.  Knowing which you can use for what can be a daunting task.  But I am here to help!

Tinder

Tinder was once exclusively a hookup app, but now, many people are meeting the loves of their lives on the app.  It’s basically the first stop for those entering the dating world. If you want to play the odds when it comes to online dating, you probably need to be swiping where everyone’s swiping. On the upside, the profiles are brief, which allows you to make decisions quickly. The downside is that short profiles make it harder to figure out what people are looking for.

Bumble

Bumble is basically Tinder for women (and on a timer).  Bumble requires women to message first, and if the guy doesn’t message back within 24 hours, he loses the match.  The timer is designed to encourage contact, and some people really do appreciate that feature. But if you’re someone who procrastinates, Bumble may not be for you. Also because women must message first, Bumble tends to weed out the slightly more insecure males. However, the rate of overly confident males tends to be higher than I’ve seen on other apps.

Hinge

Hinge focuses on common connections that you and your potential partner share on Facebook.  This is great if you trust the judgment of your friends and family… and if you trust Facebook.  The app also asks questions to help you match with better connections, which can be a plus for serious relationship seekers.

OkCupid

I will admit off the top – I met my long-term, long-distance boyfriend on OkCupid.  I was hesitant to try it at first.  Just because of the number of questions, but after we started talking, I wished there were more questions so I could get to know my now boyfriend a bit more.  Changes in the last year have made OkCupid a bit more like Tinder, focusing more on swiping and eliminating the ability to message a user without matching with them first. You can still send a message, it just won’t show up in the recipient’s inbox unless you match.  Which is kind of weird, isn’t it?

There are so many other apps out there for you to choose from – Coffee Meets Bagel, the League if you’re an elite single, Her which is for LGBTQ people, Plenty of Fish – which is just kind of gross and Match.  Finding the right app doesn’t guarantee you success when it comes to a relationship.  It’s also not wine and roses once you get into that relationship.  Don’t let the allure of one app fool you.  Understand what it is you want and need out of a potential relationship before you put yourself out there.  Trust me, it will save you some heartache in the end.