Dating apps have become prolific over the past decade. Tinder, for example, has over 50 million users, gets 1.6 billion swipes per day with over 20 billion matches. Bumble has 40 million users and the average user spends 100 minutes per day on the app. 

The Three Basic Steps Of Online Dating

You may find yourself wanting to make a profile and meet someone new. Here are the three basic steps for using dating apps.

1. Find A Match

Many users of dating apps find scrolling and swiping right on dozens of profiles to be quite addictive, however, a good first step is to limit your matches to people whose dating app bios sound really appealing to you. 

Look for some details about what their hobbies are, what they study or what field of work they are in. Ask yourself if this sounds like someone you share things in common with and if it is someone you genuinely feel that you could have an interesting discussion with. 

2. Start A Conversation

Once you have actually matched with your potential date, it’s a good idea to ask them a question or two related to the information in their biography. This should get the conversation flowing in a natural manner and is more effective and engaging than a simple “hi”. 

Once you have actually matched with your potential date... ask them a question or two related to the information in their biography. 

Some good topics to consider discussing to figure out whether you might be interested in each other include your favourite books, music and films. This is a fun and lighthearted way to initiate a chat and can make way for more in depth conversations about more meaningful topics such as hobbies, life aspirations, life experiences, faith and politics.

3. Plan An IRL Meet Up

Everyone feels differently about when online dating conversations should move on to meeting in real life. Some prefer to meet very early on if they’re not big texters or if they prefer to know someone’s ‘vibe’ in person. Others prefer to wait a few days or even a few weeks to build up a foundation. It’s important to do what feels natural to you.

When you do feel ready to invite someone out, you can casually slip it into conversation or directly ask them. If you’re going to use the casual approach, a simple “Would you like to grab a coffee sometime” could work. 

“Would you like to grab a coffee sometime”

When you are choosing where to meet up with your date for the first time, many dating experts advise going to a place where you can chat but where you won’t feel pressure to fill any awkward silences. A gig, a comedy set, the zoo, a hike, etc are all good ideas. 

Choose something that suits both of your personalities and perhaps somewhere related to your previous discussions. For example, if your date always talks about how much they love Mexican food, you could go to a Mexican restaurant. If your date is an outdoorsy person, you could go to a local park or for a bicycle ride, or why not combine the two? 

Good luck with your dating adventures!