Free Dating MW

Tinder: The New Dating App for College Students I Find Incredibly Creepy.

Step foot on any college campus and the name “Tinder” is bound to creep up–emphasis on “creep,” because the iOS app does nothing but make me feel uncomfortable.

To put it simply, Tinder focuses on one question: Hot or not? The dating app anonymously matches users with people within a 50 mile radius of them, and gives them the option of pressing a red X (Not interested! Sorry, I’m not sorry.) or a green heart (Smokeshow! Like me?!). If both people express interest, Tinder notifies them and they’re allowed to start building a budding mobile romance.

Now, users login through Facebook, so Tinder can generate an account consisting of a profile picture, age and location, as well as allow people to see if they share any mutual friends or interests with other users.

Sounds way less creepy than, say, Match com or OKCupid, right?

Well, I just downloaded the app and have been yaying or naying people for a solid 30 minutes–all in the name of journalistic research, of course. What I realized, however, is that my own profile is flawed.

It says I’m 12. Yes, 12 years old.

Somehow, my birthday on Facebook–which I correctly entered in (8/9/89, for anyone wondering. Feel free to buy presents.)–didn’t sync with the app, meaning I’m now a 12-year-old 23 year old. How alarming is that? How can I trust anyone else’s age when my own has timewarped me back to the eighth grade?

Some members, though, have already found love on the site. Nate Tammaro, whose screenname was Iron Ranger, found his soul mate, or “twin flame,” only two days after joining Survivalist Singles. They live six hours away from each other so they have only met in person twice, but Tammaro plans to move to Missouri to be with her this summer.

“When we met, we immediately knew there was no one else for us — it was the sentence-finishing type of love,” said Tammaro. The relationship has changed his outlook on prepping: Tammaro now believes his calling is to help others find their way once the “end of the world as we know it” arrives. “I’m optimistic about the future now that I’ve found love,” he said.

Others on the site aren’t just looking for love. A 44-year-old female user with the screenname Arnold, for example, states on her profile that she is looking for a survival group in addition to a man. One skill she would bring to the table, she noted, is making “humanure.” This involves converting human excrement into fertilizer — which may be necessary in case a disaster strikes and there is no running water.

Aside from Survivalist Singles, several other dating sites are popping up for preppers. PrepperDating.com was started last year and has about 70 members. And Kwink.com, a site that lets singles join niche dating communities, like “health nuts” and “Jesus freaks” is also advertising a community for “doomsday preppers” and “doomsdayers.”

“Spend your remaining days with someone that shares your instinct to prepare and survive the end of the world as we know it,” Kwink’s site says. “Don’t use those generic dating sites that can’t cater to your core trait. The Doomsday dating community is your place to connect, share and grow with similar people.”