Are Dating Apps Helpful In Finding 'The One'?

GRANDMOTHER'S GENERATION:

OUR GENERATION:

Bob Dylan was right when he sang "Times-they-are-a-changing."Our generation has always been misunderstood by the people older than us, some call us 'narcissists' while others prefer to label us 'the selfie generation'. It is clear that everybody is quite confused about how we function, when my parents see me on my phone or laptop all the time they just assume I am wasting my time because for them, using technology equals to waste of time but what they don't know is the fact that my entire life is packed into my cell phone, which I now realize sounds very morbid.

I am aware that most people who use dating apps such as Tinder don't necessarily use it for the purpose of finding 'the one' but for other reasons which are PG13. Though I will say one thing that my inexperience in boys and dating might deter this discussion but you will find not-so-subtle hints of cynicism in every paragraph. Hopefully, my pessimism towards 21st century 'love' (if it can even be called love in the first place) will help you see a different side to the story.

When you browse the internet, you find mushy pictures of celebrity couples holding hands and being all cute together but 5 minutes later, they have broken up and moved on to doing cuter things with other people. Their fans make video compilations online which garner millions of views with people mostly commenting "...and I am here sitting on my couch, single". There are so many such comments that you feel are people actually single or they like sounding lonely online.

The use of dating apps can easily be justified as just another way of meeting people and this doesn't have to be a complicated discussion because we all know the design of the concrete jungle we live in wherein everything moves too fast and the privilege of stopping for a second in the crowd becomes a scary nightmare. There is also an aspect of convenience about dating apps, you don't have to run around the city to meet people, you can just sit on your bed and find your next potential boyfriend.

To zero in on one particular dating app, let's focus on the infamous 'Tinder' and the first time I saw someone using it all I could think was, Romeo and Juliet must be crying in heaven for true love has officially left the world. The app requires interested individuals to swipe left or right on potential matches, left means 'no' while right indicates you opening the door for another relationship that will end in an awkward "I think we should stay friends."" I only realized later how it mirrors our current situation.

Trust me, most of my friends who have dated haven't lasted more than 2 months and anyone who has is seen as the modern day Romeo and Juliet. Our generation is never satisfied we always feel as if what we have isn't good enough and we strive for better but in the process we learn, better doesn't exist. We get anxious when we don't post on Instagram or change our Display picture on Facebook.

Use dating apps but don't let your life revolve around it, being single is not as bad as it seems. You can't fall in love with someone by reading their bio or looking at their pictures, it has to be something deeper.

Swipe right on a better life and this time, not on Tinder.