Over the past few months, the Tinder phenomenon has spread like wildfire across American college campuses, falling just short of the Harlem Shake for the preliminary title of "fad of the year". As a much less creepy version of Chat Roulette, Tinder has seemingly fulfilled the role of a relatable social networking platform through which young people meet.
Here is how it works: after downloading the app and syncing it with your Facebook account, Tinder will create your profile, consisting of a few pictures and interests from your Facebook page. The user is given a series of individual profiles that meet his or her geographic constraints and is presented with two options for each a green heart for yes or a red "X" for no. If both people say yes to each other, a conversation can be initiated between the two individuals. If not, neither party will know any better.
In other words, Tinder is a modern day "Hot or Not" that matches users based on mutual attraction. The app is geared toward college students in urban areas who are looking to expand their sexual prowess beyond the constraints of their own campus. Tinder works well in cities because it provides a seemingly infinite pool of potential matches and a climate of casual mingling among the single population.
Hanover, however, is far from a city. Other than frat basements, there really are not many social settings that promote the kind of spirited flirting that, say, a nightclub in Manhattan would. So when a Dartmouth student gets a match within a 10-mile radius, nine times out of ten that person on the other end will be another Dartmouth student (or, on rare occasions, a Hanover High School student, and on creepier occasions, an older Upper Valley resident). In all likelihood, you have already seen these people around before so instead of hiding behind your phone, why don't you get off your butt and talk to them?
After sifting through countless lazy pickup lines and absurd profile pictures, I have come to the conclusion that Tinder amounts to merely another distraction and source of amusement for our social media-obsessed society. Through networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, our generation has forged thousands upon thousands of virtual and often meaningless connections based on flimsy mutual interests or attraction. Only in today's world can someone have 5,000 friends on Facebook and five in real life.
As a mobile dating app, Tinder exemplifies this same social phenomenon. It merely provides another mask to shield people from real social interaction, rather than forging relationships grounded in authentic interactions.
The Tinder effect has taken the fun out of flirting and sapped romance from our love lives. I will be genuinely shocked if anyone ever meets his or her soulmate through the app, and if it does happen, I can only pray that the couple comes up with a better story to tell their kids about how they met. Yet by that point in time, our next generation may even find Tinder to be romantic.
