Photo: Samira Kassem
Romantic relationships and the dating game begins for some during our teenage years, others during the college years. In high school, we either had a two week-long relationship, two years-long or none at all.
Personally, I had none. The guys I knew were either friends or just not my type. No offence to any of the guys from my high school, some of you are here at Wesleyan, just not my type. Even now at Illinois Wesleyan, especially during the pandemic, dating is extra complicated. All my friends are either single, have someone from home or from another school. Seemingly, very few people date other people from their own schools.
To be fair, I have been told by three people to avoid dating the available guys here at IWU. No offence again to my fellow Titans, it just seems to be common advice given to people across some college campuses.
A close friend, a liberal Illinois-native, attends school in the South. She told me, in her experience so far, all the guys she has met were “conservatives, gay or not single”. None of which she would be willing or able to date, for obvious reasons.
Now with COVID-19 still happening around us, it is extra daunting to even attempt meeting people in person. I do not want to risk catching the virus but I also want to try to gain human connections, and possibly a significant other.
These are all reasons why I turned to dating apps, specifically the well-known Bumble app. I did try Tinder, for about a day, but there were way too many weirdos and “hook-up onlys” for my taste.
I moved on, did some research, and I ended up on Bumble. It is branded as more of a relationship app, rather than for hookups or full on marriage. I like the idea of starting a relationship now during such a weird time, and meeting online is much more acceptable. It is nice to be able to get to know and virtually date someone and then have a well-established relationship whenever the pandemic calms down.
One of my favorite aspects of Bumble is that the girl, if she is seeking a guy, by default has to message the guy first. This lessens the chance of getting unsolicited pictures or creepy messages right away, common experiences on other apps.
Naturally, it does not mean the guy will actually respond, but still, a good feature. Another aspect is the option to get verified. You submit a selfie matching a photo, and if it checks out, you are verified. This helps avoid matching with any unverified bots, though many humans also remain unverified. No idea why, it literally takes 30 seconds, but I guess some people are lazier than others.
Of course, even an app with satisfactory features like Bumble does not guarantee a match. I have had a lot of matches, but only a few meaningful conversations. Though, I have talked to a few I could realistically see myself in relationships with.
If anyone does actually work out, I will have to do a follow up I suppose. This is all to say my experience on Bumble has been pretty good so far, not perfect obviously, but pretty good. I can not say I have found “the one” or anything since I am only 19. But it is fun to chat with new people, and improve my online conversational skills.
So, if any single people out there are looking to virtually meet or even find their next romantic partner, try out Bumble. During the time of COVID-19, do you really have anything to lose?