We’re all looking for love or at least a decent romantic relationship with someone. Technology has made this easier for us by providing dating applications which surpass the norm of online dating. Apps like PlentyOfFish, Bumble and even Grindr dominate the online dating scene.
Tinder is one of the most popular dating applications America has seen so far, and over 50 million people use it every month, but it’s not what it used to be. This application launched in 2012, and seemingly everyone was using it. The simplicity of swiping yes or no on a person from just viewing their physical appearance was groundbreaking. One could also view other personal information such as age, education and a short biography.
Long-term relationships are one of the wonderful outcomes this app has created potential for. However, instead of using the app to forge meaningful relationships, most people are only using Tinder for hook-ups or to sell sex. Tinder is now known as one of the best dating apps to use for casual sex and late night hook-ups.
“I wasn’t oblivious to what most guys want or even expect from any girl they’d meet on Tinder,” Elite Daily columnist Marcey Rizzetta said in an article. “The guys on the app went after girls they knew had no relationship potential and who were in it just for the sex.”
What was once a tool used for people wanting to find their “Tinderellas” and “Tinder fellas” is now a sex club.
To make matters more extreme, people have also taken the opportunity to make money on Tinder. Some women use the app to make money selling nudes and false dreams to men. Specifically, infamous Tinder scammer Maggie Archer puts in her biography, “Send me $5, see what happens.” This pretentious phrase gets dozens of men to send money to her PayPal account.
Many women have tried to employ this same concept and some had their accounts deleted for their efforts. Tinder is a sort of advertisement for most of these women to lure men into a trap and ultimately sell their bodies. Prostitution at its finest. It’s not like most men would mind.
A similar situation occurs on Instagram, a popular social media site. Some Instagram models have found ways to profit from their large followings. This includes becoming “cam girls,” which involves actively exposing one’s body on third-party apps in exchange for currency. Tinder has made this exchange more ideal by giving male audiences a more direct means of reaching the models by eliminating the middleman and allowing them to sell their bodies directly.
If you are searching for a meaningful connection with someone special, Tinder is not the place. Love isn’t dead, but it appears to be on Tinder.
Kiana Naquin is a 20-year-old English sophomore from Baton Rouge, Louisiana.