Social Media

 

    Social media continues to grow every day and as it grows so do new ways to meet new people. Tinder was not the first form of online dating but it was one of the first dating apps to be released. Before Tinder, people could talk and meet through Match.com. Tinder is a dating app that was released on September 12, 2012, by CEO Sean Rad. Tinder first started off through a trial at a US college. They soon realized that Tinder was a huge success when they recorded 350 million swipes per day at the end of 2013 which equals to four thousand swipes per second. Once we reached the end of 2014 Tinder was getting up to one billion swipes per day by users. Sean turned the position over to Chris Payne who was the former eBay and Microsoft executive in March 2015. In August 2015, Rad returned and became the CEO of Tinder once again. 

    Once Sean returned as the CEO he added new features like "Rewind" and "Super Like". Making a Tinder account is pretty simple. You include simple information like your gender, location, age, the distance you prefer to meet people, and your age and gender preference. You will also add several photos of yourself that you would like others to see along with a small biography so others can get to know you before they decide to swipe right or left. While using the app you will swipe right if you find yourself interested in someone or left if you are not interested. You also have the option to "Super Like" someone if you are really interested and the person will be notified. Another way to get someone's attention is to leave them swipe notes with a short sentence that will catch their eye. Tinder Plus, Tinder Gold, and Tinder Premium are also options that cost different amounts every month depending on which plan you decide to buy. The different plans give you more features like getting to see who swipes right on you without having to swipe right on them and more. Once you match with someone then you have the opportunity to start messaging back and forth and from there you can decide if you want to go on a date or exchange phone numbers or other socials.

    Personally, I think Tinder is a great form of social media depending on what you are looking for. The biographies on each person's profile also give you a good idea of what everyone is trying to get out of the app. People use the app to try and find love, meet new people, have fun, and just go on dates, or maybe you are just trying to get over your ex. On a college campus like SAU, it can sometimes be a little awkward using Tinder because you are more likely going to run into the people you match with on an everyday basis because our campus is so small. On the other hand, using Tinder at the University of Arkansas would be a lot different because there are so many people that go to school there that the likelihood of you running into someone you matched with is very slim. Overall, I think that Tinder is a convenient app if you are trying to meet new people.