At a college like Temple with more than 20,000 undergraduate students, finding a compatible partner, whether it be through meet-cutes or dating apps, should seem well within reach.
Kyla Johnson, however, deleted Tinder after swiping through all of the available matches in her proximity, shrinking the anticipated dating pool from thousands to zilch.
“[Tinder] is a hookup app,” said Johnson, a freshman nursing major. “As much as people think that they’re gonna find love on it, you’re probably not. And I didn’t, and I don’t think I ever would.”
The popular dating app debuted Tinder U in 2018, a feature that allows students to share details like their graduation year and major on their profile to connect with others from their university. Tinder U also allows registered users to participate in a nationwide university-only dating competition: The Swipe Off Challenge.
The challenge measured the highest Tinder activity for each participating college between Sept. 4 and Oct. 2, with Temple emerging as the victor on Oct. 21. As a reward, the company is hosting a free Gunna and Glorilla concert at The Liacouras Center on Nov. 13. The concert is open to all student ID holders who register for tickets. Artists like Charli XCX, Cardi B, Juice WRLD and Saweetie have performed at previous Swipe Off concerts at universities nationwide.
The challenge calculated the total number of swipes on Tinder in a specific area. A left swipe dismisses a profile, while a right swipe indicates a “like.” If two users both swipe right on each other, they match and can send messages.
Many students find satisfaction in connecting with others through Tinder, whether they use it as a playful swiping game or a means to find love or friendship.
Jack Matz, a freshman marketing major, hopes to cultivate lasting relationships from Tinder but finds the platform less than ideal for the long-term connection he seeks. He recently discovered a positive response from women when he messages his favorite pickup line, “Will you marry me?”
However, when he meets with his dates, their e-connection isn’t reflected in the in-person meeting.
“[When you’re texting,] it’s like, ‘Oh! This person’s cool,’” Matz said. “And you get there and you just can’t stand talking to them. They just keep talking on and on all about them.”
Tinder allows for romantic access to peers nearby, which some, like freshman global studies major Ruth Bridgers, feel contributes to the rampant hook-up culture at Temple.
Temple’s considerable sexual activity is not a secret: The university is the number one most sexually active campus nationwide, according to a survey by College Stats. Tinder enables students to create profiles and find potential partners based on their individual preferences and proximity.
“I’m not looking to hook up with people,” Bridgers said. “I feel like Tinder a lot of the time is used for that, and that’s why I’m not really surprised that Temple would have won that contest because I know we definitely have that reputation.”
Tinder also creates an opportunity for out-of-state students to cultivate new relationships, whether platonic or romantic. For Miami native Nathan Rodriguez, the potential matches in Philadelphia were vastly different from what he is used to.
“[Miami Tinder] is like straight 10’s and it’s wicked,” said Rodriguez, a freshman audio and live entertainment major. “It’s like, you’re like, wow. You just want to get off [Tinder] because you feel like ‘Those girls are too hot for me.’ But here there’s a good balance. You can find genuine people, not OnlyFans models.”
For others, Tinder has been successful in boosting their self-esteem. Connecting with potential suitors virtually prior to meeting can mitigate the anxieties of in-person dating and make students feel more comfortable navigating new relationships.
Sarah Omietanski, a graduate accounting student, resorted to Tinder after what she described as a “particularly hard breakup.” In rediscovering her confidence, she found dating apps to be a more risk-free version of dating than the vulnerability of real-life scenarios.
“You don’t have to go out with anyone,” Omietanski said. “But if you end up going out with someone, that’s totally fine. [Tinder] helped me become more confident in approaching guys or girls and just being able to talk to them and flirt with them.”
Be the first to comment