No one ever said that dating in your 30s was going to be easy, and finding companionship on the free dating app Tinder is definitely no exception.
No one ever said that dating in your 30s was going to be easy, and finding companionship on the free dating app Tinder is definitely no exception.
The sheer number of potential mates can make the search feel like a fulltime job. Wendy Walsh, PhD, a psychologist known as America’s Relationship Expert, calls Tinder the “Great American Database.”
“Tinder is a paradox of choice,” said Walsh, who specializes in attachment and human mating strategies. “The more choice humans have the harder it is to make a choice. Who has one entrée at a Vegas buffet? Tinder is a Vegas buffet.”
And it might seem like everyone is on that buffet. According to Tinder, there are 1.6 billion daily swipes and 25 million daily matches, to give you an impression of how popular this app is. For the non-users among us, here’s how it works: Swiping a person’s picture/profile to the left is a “no, thanks,” and swiping to the and right is a “yes, please.” If the person has right swiped you, too, you’re a “match.” It’s up to you and that person to take it from there.
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Tinder also charges differently based on age for its new premium service, Tinder Plus. Users under 30 pay $9.99 per month for the upgrade, while ‘Tinderers’ past their 20s are charged double at $19.99 per month. This upgrade offers unlimited swipes, an “undo” function for accidental left swipes, and a passport feature that allows you to search for users in locations other than your own.
With all of these challenges in the Tinder dating world, a few tips never hurt anyone. Here’s some expert advice, as well as other users’ feedback, to get you off Tinder and into a real-life romance ASAP.