We all have heard of it. The app that will forever be embedded in our minds even when we are sixty and reminiscing about the good ole days at J Maddy. The thing to do when you are bored at home in bed on a Wednesday night. The way to unite as gal-pals to judge our potential life partners or weekend flings. Tinder.
Tinder is a way for both bold AND socially awkward people to find their people with the security blanket of technology. The stakes are too low to NOT try it ONCE. We ALL have sat around with our girlfriends, after a night at Backcountry, giggling and swiping aimlessly at possible hook-ups for the night. UGH.
The power that tinder gives to us women is so EXHILARATING. I mean we are basically given this opportunity to shop for people that we want to take cute balcony pics with for formal. Ahh, technology is great…isn’t it? Or is it messing us up.
Does it warp our brain into judging people solely based off looks when looking for a partner? Will it cripple us in the future when the fun and games of tinder is over and we are forced to actually have real conversations with people at cocktail bars? (As a generation, we are already pretty socially awkward.
Overall, I think though we feel empowered through this dating app, but Tinder causes us to backtrack on everything we work for as feminists. We judge men who base relationships solely on our looks. We yell at men for treating us like sexual objects and not human beings. We rally against men who think of women as all the same. Tinder brushes aside all of these beliefs to push hook-up culture on a group of young and reckless, alcohol loving kids.
Tinder is a scary place. It allows men to talk to us as if we are only good for one thing. This kind of “off-the-record” and reckless dialogue may be seen as just a Tinder thing; however, this kind of treatment carries over into the real world. As women, we should not stand for any talk that isn’t with value, respect, and worth. Tinder may be seen as not a serious thing, but the repercussions of our actions on the app and what we allow may hinder us from our mission as feminists.
Stay tough.
Xo K
ShoutOut! James Madison University 
I love this topic because I myself, am an avid Tinder user. I think I really only use it for fun though, I don’t even actually meet up with anyone that I have slightly chatted with on the app. I do think Tinder prevents people who are timid and introverted from reaching out in person though, it doesn’t really give us the chance to talk to someone in person and has us relying on technology as a means of relationships. Thank you for writing about this I love it!
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Yes! I’ll admit that I do love using Tinder when I’m bored and it can be fun, but I definitely agree that it can be a scary place. I think that the app can be used for good, but most of the time I just feel really bad about myself after a night of swiping. I’ve definitely experienced the “reckless dialogue” you talked about. I think that men on Tinder are comfortable making sexist comments or inappropriate remarks behind a screen without thinking about how what they say affects women. Great post!
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