Some people call it a nightmare, some people call it a fun Saturday night — others call it Tinder.
Tinder has undoubtedly revolutionized the dating scene in the six years since it was released on the App Store. In the age of technology, millennials and the Gen. Z crowd have quickly adapted to the world of online dating with the pervasive use of apps like Tinder, Bumble, Grindr and more.
"Swiping right" on casual hookups and serious relationships isn't taboo anymore, and students at ASU are among the nearly 50 million people with Tinder accounts.
To explore these disaster dates, heavy heartbreaks, sweet successes and just plain weird interactions on dating apps, The State Press spoke with ASU students about these experiences. Their responses have been edited for clarity and length.
Venmo Vigilante
“This guy on Grindr asked me to get lunch sometime and invited me to a nice place in Phoenix. I took a Lyft there and back, and he paid for both of them, which was really nice. He also paid for lunch, and I mean, I had a good time.
He didn’t seem to be looking for anything romantic or sexual, just companionship.
After the date, he randomly Venmoed me 100 dollars. I was confused, but also, I’ll take 100 dollars.”
Branden Basche, junior majoring in computer information systems.
Criminal Quarterback
“I met this guy and he was really cute. He said that he was a football player and he was transferring to CU Boulder to play football. We went on a date. I really liked him, and he really liked me. So we started kind of seeing each other. I hung out with his friends, he hung out with my friends.
I told my mom about him, and she said she had a bad feeling about it. So my mom Googled his name, and he had previously been convicted of rape. It turns out he went to one of those colleges for people who had gone to jail.
And that was my last experience with Tinder because after that I was just done.”
Neve Johnson, junior studying psychology.
The Undercover Dine-and-Dasher
“I was just getting back into the dating scene and this guy asked me out on a date to a nice restaurant in Scottsdale. Throughout the meal — I didn’t understand why until after — all the servers were looking at me kind of sadly.
So the guy says he has to go to the bathroom and about five minutes later a waiter walks up to me. He tells me this guy has been to this restaurant eight times with girls and left them all to pay.
Our bill was like 300 dollars. Thankfully they told me I didn’t have to worry about it and that they had a bill racked up for him to pay once they can catch him.
Apparently he gave me a fake name too.”
Sidney Aronsohn, sophomore studying human communication.
Sweaty in Sperry’s
“I was going on a date with this guy, and number one, he made me drive. This is where I knew, in this moment, I screwed up. He was like, 'let’s meet at my cousin’s house,' and then asked to get in my car. I'm the one that's driving, and he has a nicer car than me.
Are you kidding me? He made me pay for parking too.
We were going to go hiking, so we drove to A Mountain and I looked at him before and thought, ‘Oh god, I hope he’s changing.’
This guy’s wearing a full suit basically. Sperry’s, slacks, a blazer — and we’re hiking and it’s 115 degrees out.
We only made it up halfway, because he was out of breath. Then we’re looking around and he goes ‘The view is beautiful, but you’re more beautiful’, and puts a sweaty disgusting arm around me. He was drenched, rubbing his gross sweaty body on me, and I’m just trying to get away.
I texted my dad asking him to call me and fake an emergency — he made it really convincing.”
Sidney Aronsohn, sophomore studying human communication.
Ghosts of Matches Past
“I was on Tinder all four years I was at ASU.
I’ve been on a bunch of dates, and I’ve been on a lot of dates that have never led to anything else. But I think that’s just part of the app — you talk for a couple days, either texting or Snapchat or you meet in person and you don’t really click at all.
So I still have people on Snapchat that I met like three years ago that I'd never met in person, but I still follow along with what they do with their life and it's a very weird in between.
I'm like at a party and I see someone, I'm like, 'how do I know them?' And then you're like, 'oh, I met with them on Tinder like a year ago.'
For students on Tinder, I think my biggest piece of advice is to know what you're looking for before you start meeting people. Keeping an open mind is also important because there's so many different people, especially if you're an ASU student using it.
So just keep an open mind to the kind of person you may be looking for because you never know what a person's really like until you give them the chance to really talk to you and open up.
Kaitlyn Chapman, recent ASU graduate with degrees in journalism and women and gender studies.
Reach the reporter at mlutesad@asu.edu or follow @mackinleyjade on Twitter.
Like The State Press on Facebook and follow @statepress on Twitter.
