Tinder is a mobile dating app that’s widely known as a hookup app. But is it just a hookup app? We look at all the features and speculations of Tinder and if it’s just for hooking up.
Tinder is a mobile app that’s used for both dating and hookups. Tinder received an early reputation as a college hookup app; however, it’s evolved over the years as both and hookup and dating up for single users.
This article will look at why Tinder is known as a hookup app and how people use Tinder Daily.
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Why Is Tinder Known For Hookups?
Tinder was launched in 2012 by founders Sean Rad, Jonathan Badeen, Justin Mateen, Joe Munoz, Dinesh Moorjani, and Whitney Wolfe. The company was founded in the startup incubator “hatch labs.”
Initially marketing its product to college campuses, founder Sean Rad believed in the “double opt-in” meeting system. This is when both parties accept to meet each other, rather than a random guy just going up to a girl and hitting on her. This scenario ensured that both parties were interested from the start.
Even though the original Tinder was based solely on looks, you only swiped right or left if you thought the other person was hot. Once you were connected, both parties could communicate with one another, similar to today’s Tinder.
This is why Tinder got the initial rep as a hookup app, as the element of having a detailed profile of hobbies, education, kids, and what you’re looking for were not options. Users stated a short bio, put up pictures, and began talking.
Tinder is now used by millions of users. These users come in a wide variety. Some users claim they’re looking for a hookup or an FWB (friend with benefits). Other users claim they’re looking for the real deal and don’t want a hookup.
Tinder is entirely a wildcard app and can be used for any dating purpose. If you’re looking to find true love, it might be beneficial to try other dating apps such as match or hinge to find a serious relationship. On Tinder, only time will tell the guys or girls’ real intentions, which could ultimately be wasted.
Check out our complete Tinder User Guide here.
Is Tinder Just For Hookups?
No. Tinder is not just for hookups. Love can happen anywhere there’s consistent affection. Tinder is no different, as users can fall in love with meeting a potential match. In 2019, Tinder reported having over 5.2 million paying subscribers who subscribe to their Tinder Gold features.
More users typically mean more opportunities to find someone to who you’re both physically and mentally attracted. Tinder is used around the world and can be used pretty much in any country to find love.
Tinder is similar to other dating apps in that the user is typically single and is looking for companionship. It’s up to the user to determine if the friendship is short or long-term. Often with Tinder, it’s short-term; however, long-term cases are highly probable.
This is the case with any dating app. Regardless of the reputation of the mobile app, people with ill intentions can sign up anywhere and try to deceive the other person.
Why Does Tinder Have A Bad Hookup Reputation?
Tinder received scrutiny because online dating platforms typically matched people based on information, not physical appearance. Interests, hobbies, kids, and plans were all fields that a user could enter on dating sites before Tinder.
Tinder introduced the swipe feature, and it instantly became addicting. Young adults didn’t need to go to bars anymore to meet girls/guys; they could aimlessly fumble through pictures, swiping yes or no to 100’s of users in an hour.
This also gave a gateway for guys and girls to talk to numerous partners in a centralized location. More partners equal more problems.
Tinder paved the way for introverts and people with social anxiety to meet people without going to too loud, crowded places.
Tinder also received scrutiny from famous TV shows like Family Guy. In this episode, Quagmire finds the app Tinder and has relationships with over two dozen women. Peter and the gang eventually can pry away the app and get Quagmire back to normal.
Those who have never heard of Tinder, especially parents who are fans of Family guy, instantly think bad of Tinder.
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Tinder Online Hookup Experiments
Famous YouTube videos have also surfaced, giving dating apps a lousy rep of what goes on behind the scenes inside guys’ and girls’ direct messages on Tinder.
For instance, in this video, the YouTube channel “Whatever” did an experiment asking 1,000 girls for casual dating on Tinder.
He waited three days until he got 1,000 matches, sent the same message to every girl, and waited for the results.
What were the results? They were surprisingly unbalanced for a “hookup” app. As most would expect the answer to be yes, he could only get 25 people to say yes.
No responses and other responses were of the majority as being straightforward about casual dating did not seem to be in his favor.
On the flip-side, YouTuber Alana Arbucci downloaded Tinder for 20 minutes and got an overwhelming amount of responses from guys.
Alana’s Tinder caught fire after only 20 minutes, and you’re able to see the type of messages she received from the few guys. This is a small sample size from Tinder, but it does give some perspective of how nice and odd guys can be off the initial message.
These are the two different responses that both guys and girls receive on the dating app Tinder. Each person’s experience will be different than the next. It’s not impossible to find love on Tinder, as the amount of users far exceeds other mobile dating apps.
Conclusion
Tinder is often known as a hookup mobile dating app. However, users have found love off of Tinder once they find a match that they connect with. Other dating apps such as Hinge and Bumble have better results in dating, but Tinder is not far off.
If you’re looking for love, try Tinder for a short period and see if your experiences differ from those in the videos. The great thing about Tinder and all of these other apps is that they’re entirely free to try and don’t require anything besides time.
The mobile app dating game is all about finding which app best works for you and whatever one you feel most comfortable with.
What are your thoughts? Do you think you can find love on Tinder? Let us know in the comments below!