Quarantine made me do it: What I found trying 3 different dating apps

In the age of social media and the internet, many of us have jumped onto dating apps to find love in a rather unconventional way. And now, with COVID-19 restricting us from making new connections in real life, finding love online seems to be the only way possible.

Admittedly, I was never one to shy away from using dating apps like Tinder (we all get lonely sometimes…right?), but I deleted the app long before COVID-19 and lockdown started. I was starting to realise that the connections I made there never really lasted, so I decided to drop the app entirely.

Then, when I flew back home to Malaysia and had to quarantine myself in an empty hotel room for 14 days, my boredom got the best of me and guess who downloaded the app once again? Yeah, that’s right: me!

But this time, I didn’t just stick with one app. I’ve had my fair share of horrible Tinder date experiences in the past, and there’s always that stereotype that people on Tinder just want something casual. So I thought, proceder agora a esta ligação this time, why not try out a few different dating apps instead? Maybe I’ll find different sorts of people on different apps catered to different needs!

In the end, I downloaded Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble just to see what sort of experiences I’d get from each app.

Getting back into Tinder was quick and easy because all I had to do was make my account visible again, update a few of my photos, rewrite my bio and off I went!

I wanted to test out the stereotype that the people who go on Tinder only wanted to hook up, so I wrote my bio in a way that could possibly put this to the test:

I decided to see if the people who chanced upon my profile read my full bio or only had a quick glance. But, as it turns out, only a handful of people seem to mention my little message at the bottom while messaging me.

Also, six hours after putting my Instagram handle on Tinder, I received many direct messages with requests even when we hadn’t matched previously.

You can even add a comment on their prompts/photos to spark up conversations which helps make the dating app experience all the less superficial and look-centric

In the end, I didn’t really match with that many people (mostly due to the fact that the amount of Instagram DMs I got really turned me off from swiping) and only a handful really reacted to my bio in the first place.

It also got really exhausting trying to keep up with all the messages and some of them couldn’t take a hint.

Instead of just the classic photos and bio format, most dating apps have, Hinge has a feature where you can add prompts onto photos such as phrases like, “What dating me would look like”, “Don’t show this to my mom”. They also allow for different questions to be added to your profile.

But the one thing I really liked about Hinge more than anything was that you have to like an aspect of a person’s profile instead of just swiping left and right.

But while setting up my profile and reading through the profiles of others felt more personal on Hinge than it did on Tinder, that still didn’t stop people from treating it like a second Tinder anyway.

I found that although the comment and liking feature could’ve been a great way to spark a good conversation, most people just ended up liking my photos instead (which, not going to lie, made it quite difficult for me to really text them first).

The way you match on Bumble is a lot more like Tinder than Hinge; you swipe right on the ones you like and left on the ones you don’t.

But unlike Tinder, on Bumble, only girls can make the first move and you have to do it fast or else your matches will expire in 24 hours!

Clearly, this isn’t the best choice for someone who procrastinates from texting first and forgets to reply messages often. Exhibit B:

Yep, that’s right. These are all my expired matches, not including those that unmatched me after they expired from my queue, mind you.

It’s sad to say that because I rarely used Bumble or checked the app, I didn’t really get to talk to anyone on there, but I was never a really good first texter on dating apps to begin with.

Hence, I didn’t learn much from being on this app. My verdict? Maybe don’t use Bumble if you’re a passive dater.

With the way Bumble is set up, it’s perfect for those who are sick of subpar opening text messages and want to show guys how it’s done and guys who are tired of being ignored after the first message is sent

All in all, I feel like Tinder is a great place to look for casual flings while Hinge is more catered towards meaningful connections and learning more about the other person.

If you’re anything like me, Hinge is the way to go! But, ultimately, every dating app has its audience and who knows which demographic you fit in best?

Each dating app has its ups, downs, and own personal goals with the way they’re set to work, so there’s no telling which is best. In the end, if you’re looking for something casual, you’ll find that no matter what application you use.