Dating apps are a great concept. You create a profile, answer some questions, and start discovering people near you, that you could match with. Quick and simple, right? More and more people are signing up on free dating apps, and that only hints at one thing – everyone loves the concept!
And yet, there is an inherent flaw, something that doesn’t add up, because despite the number of dating apps, people are still single and don’t know what to do.
There is an abundance of dating apps in the market – Tinder, OkCupid, Hinge, Bumble, Woo, each with its own algorithm and unique features and one common promise – you’ll find your match here.
So what’s goes wrong?
Skewed gender ratio
All free dating apps face the problem of gender imbalance. According to a recent article by Net Imperative, men outnumber women on dating apps by 3 to 1. As a result, if you’re a man, you end up sending many invites and messages with no response, and if you’re a woman your inbox gets flooded with messages and matches that you have to arduously screen and filter.
Aggressive chasing from men
Given the above gender ratio imbalance, men try to put in extra effort and reach out to women multiple times and across social platforms to really get their attention. For many women this aggressive chasing can be uncomfortable and a major turn off. For men, they really see no way out in the face of so much competition.
Lack of Quality Matches
Free dating apps do not have a strict filtering process. People looking for hook-ups, casual dating, serious relationships, marriage, friends with benefits, all access the app for their own purpose. If you’re looking for something very specific, like someone who you can eventually settle down with, the app is going to leave the laborious task of sifting to you.
More Swiping, Less Dating
Did you know there’s a technical term for it too? It’s called Option Paralysis – indecision in the face of too many choices. Just like Netflix and Swiggy, dating apps can put you into an option paralysis. You swipe, swipe, and swipe, but you never make a choice, or fully commit to it because you think no matter how good someone is, there could be someone better out there.
How To Change Your Dating Strategy
It’s really difficult to break out of the dating app cycle. Even though the apps don’t guarantee a meaningful relationship, they do bring the opportunity to talk to other men and women. Plus, the investment is little – all you need is a smartphone, data connection, a few photos to upload, and a thumb to swipe. The lifestyle of working professionals today does not allow them enough avenues to meet other people, and to that end, dating apps do help to fill that gap.
Eventually, though, one craves for a serious relationship and someone that they could settle down with.
What’s really exciting is the new concept of dating communities that encourage singles to get-together and meet each other on weekends over fun activities and workshops.
An app that does this really well is Floh. It’s a dating community for working professionals who do not want to swipe through many profiles a day and prefer to meet other singles in real life.
Floh’s paid membership and a rigorous verification check makes sure only quality members become a part of the community, saving its users a lot of time and effort.
Having said that, being single is one of the most amazing phases of one’s life and one should learn to enjoy that. Not only through dating apps, but also by focussing on oneself, learning new things, meeting new people, and stepping out of one’s comfort zone!