Eva & Nacho On: Tinder, Bumble, and Online Dating

Flyby writers Eva S. Monroe ’18 and Ignacio Sabate ’18 have a lot of feelings, and they’re ready to share them. In Flyby’s newest series, these two sit down to discuss the more weighty topics on campus, like Bean boots, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, and how to get the best lighting for your Instagrams. Wait, that makes them sound really basic. You know what, ignore all of that, let them do the talking.

This week, Eva and Nacho take on Tinder, Bumble, and the confusing world of online dating.

Eva: Okay, so Tinder. Everybody’s favorite way to waste time.

Nacho: Please explain what Tinder is for our readers, Eva.

Eva: Tinder is a dating app where you swipe left or right on people’s pictures. If you match with someone, you can talk to them, or you can recognize them from section and try to pretend nothing happened...Do you really not know what Tinder is?

Nacho: No, of course I do.

Eva: Have you ever really been on a date with one of your Tinder matches?

Nacho: I mean, I’ve dated people I had matched with, but we didn’t really start talking on Tinder though.

Eva: I did once when I was back in D.C. It wasn’t great, to be honest. He, like, yelled at me to change my concentration before I even introduced myself. It was super weird. But I’ve also hung out with people I already knew after matching with them on Tinder and it’s been fine, I don’t think they were Tinder dates though.

Nacho: Oh?

Eva: Yeah, I have this tendency to go on dates and not realize they’re dates. Remember that one time I went to a networking event and ended up on a date? Yeah, like that.

Nacho: Impressive. Do you ever swipe right on people you know?

Eva: Yeah for sure. But sometimes it can be kind of weird, like people expect that you want something to happen now that you’ve swiped right, when really you just wanted it to be funny.

Nacho: I love matching with friends. I really only swipe right on friends if it’s super funny if we match.

Eva: So you mean like me? [We’ve already matched around six times].

#rightswipeselfie By Ignacio Sabate

Nacho: Nah, I’ve started swiping left on you. The weird thing about Tinder is that it’s awkward to explain to people how you and your significant other met. If someone at the Thanksgiving table asks you how you and your girlfriend met, what do you say?

Eva: You do what a bunch of couples already do: you lie.

Nacho: Fair. But I don’t think my parents lied about how they met— my mom asked my dad and his friend if they wanted to have dinner at her apartment and my dad said no because he didn’t like what my mom cooked. That would be a weird lie.

Eva: But what about this new app, Bumble? It’s like Tinder, but the girls have to contact the guys first within 24 hours, or else the match disappears. If you’re both of the same gender, then either one can message first.

Nacho: I mean, I’m pretty indifferent about it. Mainly because it hasn’t been released on Android.

Eva: Well, issue number one is that you have an Android. But I think Bumble is fun, except I’m really bad at starting conversations.

Nacho: Are you really on Tinder/Bumble for the conversation, though?

Eva: Absolutely, yes. Tinder in D.C. is great because I just end up getting into arguments about politics. It’s fun. But what do you think, are these online dating apps a good thing? Are they going to help college students break out of hook-up culture?

Nacho: I’m sort of like an old man, Eva. Things just sort of happen and I’m just here, watching things unfold. Soon, Tinder will just be the norm. I’m just here for the ride.

Eva: That’s...very weird to say, Nacho. Left swipe.