One week
It's a question I think every single person hears now. "Have you tried online dating?" I have, but it was a long time ago, so I get the additional advice that maybe I should try again. So, for one week this January while not much else was going on, I tried again.
I tried Facebook's new dating feature. It's hidden in a menu in their mobile app. I despise the mobile app, so that's not a good start for me. Once there, it seemed pretty standard at first. I filled out the profile and then it started showing potential matches. I declined a few and then there was one that seemed kind of interesting. I press the interested button and suddenly it is trying to make me send a message. That seems strange, so I back out try again, and get the same result. I end up looking it up and that's how it works. Apparently Facebook thinks that if I'm interested, I should immediately send a message, but I'm not that interested. I changed my mind and hit pass instead and after passing on a few more people, I realized that it made no sense to even be looking there. I was just hitting pass to get through all the people, so I deleted my profile and uninstalled the app,
I also tried Tinder. It's by far the most popular of the dating apps right now and I can understand the appeal. Initially, it is fun. I like this picture - swipe right. Not that one - left. Eventually though, I've seen everyone and all I get is "There's no one new around you." Thanks for summarizing dating in Regina in one sentence Tinder. There were new people every day, but not many and I never got a match. Tinder did try to sell me on one of their premium packages with the promise that I could see three people who liked me. Of course, I had already seen those profiles at some point and decided I didn't like them or there'd be a match, so I'd be paying a significant amount of money just to see someone I had already said no to. I stuck it out for a week, but that was enough. It just felt like I was wasting my time.
There are plenty of other dating apps out there and I looked at a couple of others over the week, but using more of them didn't seem helpful. I'd run into the same profiles on all the sites, so it wasn't really increasing the pool of potential matches. Maybe if I had a better profile or was more patient it would eventually lead to something, but I continue to think that I'm better off going out and doing things instead of trying to meet someone through a dating site. So, here are a few things I've done so far in January:
I tried Facebook's new dating feature. It's hidden in a menu in their mobile app. I despise the mobile app, so that's not a good start for me. Once there, it seemed pretty standard at first. I filled out the profile and then it started showing potential matches. I declined a few and then there was one that seemed kind of interesting. I press the interested button and suddenly it is trying to make me send a message. That seems strange, so I back out try again, and get the same result. I end up looking it up and that's how it works. Apparently Facebook thinks that if I'm interested, I should immediately send a message, but I'm not that interested. I changed my mind and hit pass instead and after passing on a few more people, I realized that it made no sense to even be looking there. I was just hitting pass to get through all the people, so I deleted my profile and uninstalled the app,
I also tried Tinder. It's by far the most popular of the dating apps right now and I can understand the appeal. Initially, it is fun. I like this picture - swipe right. Not that one - left. Eventually though, I've seen everyone and all I get is "There's no one new around you." Thanks for summarizing dating in Regina in one sentence Tinder. There were new people every day, but not many and I never got a match. Tinder did try to sell me on one of their premium packages with the promise that I could see three people who liked me. Of course, I had already seen those profiles at some point and decided I didn't like them or there'd be a match, so I'd be paying a significant amount of money just to see someone I had already said no to. I stuck it out for a week, but that was enough. It just felt like I was wasting my time.
There are plenty of other dating apps out there and I looked at a couple of others over the week, but using more of them didn't seem helpful. I'd run into the same profiles on all the sites, so it wasn't really increasing the pool of potential matches. Maybe if I had a better profile or was more patient it would eventually lead to something, but I continue to think that I'm better off going out and doing things instead of trying to meet someone through a dating site. So, here are a few things I've done so far in January:
- Cinderella was playing at the Conexus.
- Craft Services, the new cafe at the Mackenzie Art Gallery, had their grand opening.
- The AMMA quartet were playing a free concert at the Regina Public Library.
- John Worth Hannam was playing at the Exchange.
- The Dunlop's latest exhibit "Are You My Mother?" had it's opening reception.
