Dating apps have been a common thing for this generation within the past few years. Starting with the coronavirus pandemic back in 2019, many have started to believe that true love is on the screen and not real life. The systems are set up with questionnaires as well as choosing what you would want your partner’s gender, race, age, skills, hobbies, as well as other things to find your dream partner. Once you finally do match with someone who meets the criteria of what you’re looking for, it always goes south way too fast.
The talking stage of dating apps has gone in a horrible direction. You go on dates with someone, it’s been going pretty well and that as soon as you want to make things exclusive, that person is all of a sudden not wanting to take things further. They often respond saying, “I’m not ready to date,” despite being on a dating app.
Some people use dating apps as a hookup site or to sell you something that is a total scam. Many of us are so stuck on the internet that when we all heard that Mayor Zohran Mamdani and his wife met on Hinge, people were so quick to join it to try to find that same exact relationship.
When using dating apps, it just seems like a sort of game that you’re playing with yourself back-and-forth. Either getting a positive response through the app or getting a negative response, such as ending up being in the worst situationship of your life.
Some people honestly use dating apps as a game. I’ve seen plenty of Tiktoks and Instagram Reels of people going on Hinge or Tinder on their iPad talking about what is right with the profile or what is wrong. No one fully used the apps how they’re meant to be used and I feel because of the coronavirus pandemic, not many of us have had proper social interactions.
With the way the world works nobody is willing to put themselves out there. Either you go out into public and talk to the person or just sit there texting about what you guys are going to do on a date then never talk again. Dating in Utah is like going to the North Pole and trying to find Santa.
Many of us are on the phone 24/7, 365 days, but when it comes to a text or call from anyone that we know, family, friends or partners, we sit there and we ignore it. We don’t acknowledge it because why would we when there are other things better to do? Like sitting on our phones all day and watching Tiktoks, Reels, scrolling through Pinterest, playing Clash Royale or our fantasy league.
No matter what you do on Hinge, Tinder, Plenty of Fish or many others, you can never find what you are looking for. Then, when you do have that opportunity to find someone like in a coffee shop, at a store, even going to social events — it never quite ends well.
No one truly knows if they really wanted to be loved or if they just wanted to be in a relationship.
Aubrey • Feb 10, 2026 at 8:23 am
Well written, funny, and so so true.