Also dating apps are a complete privacy nightmare
And a waste of money
For those of us still in Nam, kill me, please.
Please kill me too, right after this guy 😭
Dibs on thirdsies
I am sorry. If it makes you feel any better I only had one healthy long term relationship in my life, I dated plenty before I met my wife but yeah best not speak of it. So given my track record of like 20-1 if I became single again I am just going to call it.
Not just dating, I think gen x looks at everything that way at this point.
This 👆
I think this is as much about early millenials as about late Gen X. Early Gen X are just worried they’ll never get grandchildren at this point.
Oh God yes.
Look me and my wife met on a dating site. No shame in this. We both had pretty detailed profiles with lots of photos and luckily for us we were living fairly close by in the same stages in life. Our first date we both kinda knew what we were about. At the same time neither of us had real social media accounts so yeah no weird stalking games.
Now, me and her dated for three years until we moved in together. That was enough time. Time to see each other as people, warts and all. We have our share of embarrassing memories. I remember the time she got wasted and threw up BBQ squid and wine on me on the train. She remembers the time my card got declined at dinner. We had seen each other frustrated, failing at something, ill, broke, in the morning, drunk, out of work, and all the other downs real humans have. Both of us decided we were okay with that and well we are still together today.
Now I see the black mirror like horrorshow that is tinder from my younger friends and hear them say things how they consider it sus if you aren’t on Instagram. I see them acting like a date is a job interview. Gameification and weird cryptic terms like “high value”. Long lists of must haves and must nots.
Mother of fuck how and why would anyone want this? I felt like we had it pretty well figured out when in my early 20s. You could meet someone the traditional way or you could use a dating site and find someone who has the same fun hobbies as you. Oh they aren’t exactly who you normally date? Ok. See what happens.
We both had pretty detailed profiles with lots of photos
Same with my wife and I who met online a couple of years back. Even back then, lots of other men would complain about having a hard time getting matches, being poorly treated on dates, etc. which did happen to me, but just as often I’d make a promising connection.
I think part of the reason I was relatively successful despite not being terribly attractive is I treated online dating a bit like online shopping, whereas I think others treat it like a virtual version of bumping in to someone at a bar.
To give you an example of a profile I might skip:
My idea of a great first date: Just about anything!
Likes: food, traveling, and probably your dog
Dealbreakers: pineapple on pizzaFirst prompt tells me nothing about you besides you’re easy going. That’s a great opportunity to share something you like doing, squandered.
Second prompt is the same likes that everybody writes in their profile, and doesn’t lead to naturally staring a unique conversation. Everybody likes “travel and food” so, “Where have you travelled,” and, “What’s your favourite food,” are well-trodden and tired topics IMO. Either share something specific about food or travel, or mention something else entirely.
Third prompt takes another opportunity to save us both some time by stating an actual deal breaker, squandered into a cliche joke.
A better version of that profile could be (just winging it off the top of my head):
My idea of a great first date: I love to ride my bike! Let’s ride some trails and then get a dessert. I know the best spot in town for croissants!
Likes: blunt communication and lots of personal space to get to know someone
Dealbreakers: if you still live with your parentsFirst prompt tells me that you like biking which could be a conversation breaker about which trails you like, what type of bike you ride, and we could also talk about that croissant place, or our other favourite desserts.
Second prompt is useful as someone approaching dating you, and could be a deal breaker for potential suitors.
Third prompt states a real deal breaker which could save us both time, and it’s not something (religion, political affiliation, hair colour) which is usually covered in the profile and filterable in your preferences, or in photos.
In my opinion, there were a lot more of the former type of profiles, but I found it easier to break the ice and connect with the latter type of profile. The former profile is fine if you’re both just looking for a hook up and the prompts are secondary to the eye candy, but if you’re looking for a long lasting connection, it’s all about the prompts.
My question to those who are dating just a couple of years later: how have things changed?
whereas I think others treat it like a virtual version of bumping in to someone at a bar.
Little to do with your point, but I think it’s worth mentioning here.
I read this whole thing about how it’s absolutely nothing like bumping into someone in a bar which is part of why it’s so bad.
The jist of it is that in a bar, your options are limited. So even if someone doesn’t visually meet your ideal, you often get over the hump quickly and get to know them as a person which might all of a sudden make them attractive to you.
On an app, if they don’t meet your visual ideal, the next candidate is just a figurative swipe left and so there is zero chance to get over that hump.
Plus, in an app, you don’t see the group of people surrounding the most attractive options, whether they are trying to filter through them or have fun with each one they like.
Also, you can lower your tolerance of the less fun stuff because it feels like there’s always more options available. Like someone but they aren’t available on a free day you have? Someone else might be available on that day, so just pivot to them. Or try both at once, or keep the other on the backburner, only to discover they could read the sudden adjusted level of interest and aren’t as keen themselves anymore.
It happened once to me in RL. I met one girl at a bar one night, hit it off with her well. Then, that same week, she wasn’t able to come to another bar I was going to and I started out wingmanning for a friend by talking to the friend of someone he was interested in so he could talk to her and ended up going home with that friend. I couldn’t handle having two girls being interested and ended up screwing it up with both. But that’s what it almost always feels like with online dating, and I bet it’s even worse for women who get way more matches.
And on top of that, I know that Tinder makes more money if someone wants to find a partner but fails to. I know they have incentive to hire people (or bots) to match, chat for a bit, then flake out. Or independent scammers looking to chat and take money. I have a paid sub and had what seemed like a great match right as renewal was coming up, then she flaked before a date could happen. Who knows if she was real or not, she could have been but at this point it’s hard to get excited about meeting anyone, which makes it harder to engage genuinely, and I hardly feel anything even when I do match with someone that I think I’d really like.
I’m glad I’m generally content being single or this would be pretty depressing.
That’s an incredibly accurate way of describing what looking at dating today feels like.
I watch single millennial friends dating at it looks fucking miserable.
Very lucky to be hitched
I have a friend who is recently divorced.
Don’t get me wrong, they’re both better off, but it’s bleak out there for singles.
It’s an age thing.
People with desirable traits for pairing up do so more frequently than those who lack these traits. As individuals pair up, the average quality of the remaining unpaired pool declines.
So the dating pool for early 20 year olds might be 1 dud: 20 mediocre: 1 winner. By the time people hit 40 the dating pool is 500 duds: 5 mediocre: 1 winner.
I dont think this is accurately describing people and how they develop. You have many people that are fine partners but got stuck in toxic relationships. You have people that were great “matches” in their twenties but turned to become terribly self absorbed arseholes in their thirties and vice versa you have people who developed to become very decent. You have people that were fine but wanted to sleep aroung in their 20s and then became monogamous and people who did the opposite.
Also you entirely ignore that as more people are permanently in relationships with increasing age that also means the “competition” reduces.
Finally this assume the observer to be somewhat static in their relation to other people being duds, mediocre or winner. But given your numbers they would become more likely to be duds or mediocre as they get single at higher age. Two “mediocre” can make a fine couple. And quite frankly, if the only people someone ever get to know are “duds” chance is he or she needs to work through some issues.
Of course it doesn’t match the data. It is the just world fallacy. Failure occurs because a person is a failure and you know that because our world only allows just results. Success occurs because a person has merit and you know that because our world only allows just results.
Could be a million reasons why a person is single in their 30s? Nah only one.
How about you try reading what I wrote again. Apparently my simple analysis was too complex for you to understand.
A few basics for the logically and statistically impaired. This is a simple analysis of the probability of pairing up.
Having desirable traits for pairing up: I didn’t mentioned what these were to for a very good reason. It doesn’t matter to the analysis. What matters is the resulting rate of pairing up. Those that have traits desirable to pairing up are removed from the dating pool more quickly than those that don’t.
This creates a constant strong selection pressure of removal on the pool.
I also used to terms to describe the potential relationship not the people. Because who or what these people are is immaterial.
Dud = no chance of pairing up.
Mediocre = moderate chance of paring up.
Winner = pairing up.
Seriously…
Yeah so this type of narratives is why I am very very glad I am happily married. I don’t rank humans, I don’t think of humans in terms of what they can do for me only. I am also aware that a disturbing high degree of what we are is what situation we are in.
I make six-figures and I have been homeless. Generally your brain works worse as you get older so homeless me was smarter than uppermiddle class me. I know he was in a lot better shape physically and had a full set of hair.
I can make you a shitty person by giving you a foot injury. I can make you a loving person with women weed. And you know what? We are all shitty judges of character.
I was divorced at 36 and found a girlfriend 6 months later. It’s really not that bad out there. Just make sure you’re taking care of yourself and it makes it a lot easier.
Everybody says this. I heard this from older people about dating 10 years ago, and 20 years ago. This is just what people say as they get older regardless of how dating changes.
Yeah, see if I had to start dating again, I wouldn’t date Gen Z. Problem solved.
I dunno. There is statistics that show younger people to have less and less sex. And it certainly is not because of more prudeness nowadays. While not the final indicator i do think it to be representative of the general lack of stable relationships.
Younger people not having homes to rent might be a large contributor.
Taking someone home to your room in your parents house has never been a “player move”.
You make a great point. Also dating typically involves going out and that is expensive. I also think people are more honest today. They feel more comfortable not having to lie about it to seem cool. I think past data are skeptically full of some lies padding the data given the peer pressures of older generations behaviors.
Yep, dating sucks no matter what era you’re in.
*slowly puts away his picnic basket and bicycle made for two
daisy… daisy…
Yeeeah, I found myself single again after a divorce, and I have not even tried to date seriously after seeing what’s currently on the market.
Folks out here thinking that dating is a replacement for some much-needed therapy.
If you only have first dates you never need to move past identifying your problems. No work needed to push through them. Check Mate psychos!
No need for self-improvement if you decide that issue lies with everyone else! ♡
This, definitely.
We got to live our teens and twenties without smartphones and social media - and it was so awesome.
You did something incredibly embarassing last weekend when you were drunk? No need to worry about photos or videos online and nobody would remember or care a few weeks later.
You date someone a few times and things don’t match up? You move on, no need to worry about them stalking or badmouthing you online.
The world seemed to be on a course for the better and the dumbass populist movements were marginal in most countries. Future looked bright and it was easy to be carefree. We got to enjoy our youths.
There were no short or vertical videos. You had to read vast majority of the information available, which made you actually process the info. And someone had put in the effort to write the stuff coherently, because no-one would read the kind of crap that video bloggers are spewing out of their mouths.
By the time we started working, the economic situation was mostly stable and getting a loan for a house or an apartment was pretty much guaranteed.
And so much more. I count myself extremely lucky to have been born in the late 70’s.
80s babies got most of that too except we were the leading edge of the housing and college jobs crisis. Graduated right into the dot com recession and then 2008 wiped the floor with a lot of us.
But I don’t think the embarrassing history thing is as bad as you think it is. I think it’s just become a red flag to judge your date based on things that were a while ago. The real terror is being stalked. It is way too easy to get stalked these days.
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I’m sorry that happened.
I have some good friends who were born in the 70s, and some born in the early 80s. I’m essentially the cusp. My friends who are only three or four years older went through high school never hiding a phone in a hoodie pocket to text their girlfriend. I got my first cell phone my junior year of high school. Facebook came out essentially contemporaneous with my acceptance to college. Social media then and cell phones then are absolutely not the same as the shit we have now. It was a freedom to communicate, and privacy was your choice. Now, privacy is up to whichever service you use, and most likely it doesn’t exist. And it’s odd because kids today seem to be okay with it.
Myspace and flip phones were fantastic. There were drawbacks, sure, but overall they allowed people to spread their wings and find like-minded individuals. Now, it seems like it’s a funnel to nowhere.
You can still get flip phones. Caterpillar makes one that looks decent and AFAIK does 5g
Yeah, that ship has sailed, unfortunately. Pandora’s box has opened and my phone and my income stream are pretty intertwined at this point. It’s also how I Lemmy.
https://www.catphones.com/en-us/cat-s22-flip/
It’s Android!
I am in my early 40s. Stalking and badmouthing was defintly a problem before social media as well.
I am male and still have that experience. Was much worse for women/girls.
I met my wife in 2011, just before Tinder got big in our area. I remember our single friends being ecstatic when Tinder was first around, saying about how easy it was to meet people.
Many of them are still single and now well into their 30’s. They talk a lot about wanting to find someone special, but they just swipe and swipe and swipe all day to no avail. Shit’s bleak out there. And I just know that if I didn’t meet my wife I’d probably be stuck in the same rut.
Dating apps are terrible because they don’t want you to actually find a good partner. If you find a good partner, you have no need for the dating app anymore. So they’ll match you with people that’ll peak your interest, but ultimately won’t work out.
Obviously there’s more to it than just that, but this is a big part of the problem.
I had more luck meeting people on a penpal app than getting a single match on any of the major dating apps. The algorithm just always seems to sort me out. It can really mess with your self esteem when you’re never getting a single match or reply to your messages.
It’s definitely not me, because I get hundreds of letters on Slowly, where it’s actually about communication and I’m even going on a vacation with a girl I met there next week.
Tinder & Co. are useless, objectifying apps that build on greed and should be burned to the ground.
I’m on “the apps” as a nearly 40 year old. It is a nightmare for sure. With so many options little things or “not vibing” on the very first in-person interaction ends any chance at forming a relationship.
While this negative thinking about dating can def lead down or around the incel community, there are def many negative aspects of online dating becoming the norm that are def not ideal.
The online dating community seems so messed up. Doesn’t it make sense to move away from that and seek out the people who aren’t embedded in that app culture? The ones who are going to meetups and classes and activities to meet people in person the old fashioned way.
Def not a bad way to do it. One meetup group I am in is mostly run by a power couple who met in the group years ago.
Preach. I’m a 45 year old living it now. It’s odd.
I met my SO in… I think it was 2017? Well after the rise of Tinder. We did not meet on Tinder, and neither of us have ever had an account on there.
We met through a social group for a game (not dissimilar to pokemon go), where we happened to play for the same team in the same area. We would have team meet ups occasionally and all go for coffee and to play the game at locations where there was a lot of things to do in the game.
I have not, and likely will never, use something like Tinder. Not only is it unlikely that my current relationship would fail, but even if I found myself single for some reason, I just couldn’t care less. I’ve been through it all already. A LOT of shit relationships to the point where I’m kind of over it. If I didn’t have my current relationship, I’m not sure I’d care to get into another one. To put it simply, my partner and I are so well matched that we’ve never felt the need to even raise our voice at eachother. I have an amazing relationship, we’re both happy and comfortable. The only thing left to do is put a ring on it and wait for our inevitable demise. I wouldn’t try to find any cheap substitute for them. Nobody has a chance of measuring up. I don’t think that would be fair to anyone involved.
I have no illusions. I was profoundly lucky. So I don’t expect anyone to “get” it.
I am with them, and they are with me, now, until the end of our days. Separate, and together.
Was it ingress? If so you bastards better not be team blue.
Blue sucks.
Frog or foe?
Ribbit.
fortunate son intensifies
I do thank the stars I didn’t have to try the dating app scene. It seems soul crushing from the outside
