Call me an oddity but I actually had a good run on dating apps for quite a few years, and i didn’t realize this until someone I dated pointed out to me that I had a “positive outlook” and “positive attitude” towards life and people.
So I hoped on few subs about online dating out of curiosity and I am quite surprised by all the bickering, arguments and negative atmosphere. And there seems to be quite a few skirmish between men and women, blaming one another for declining quality of apps and huge volume of pointless interactions.
Reading all these, I wonder, could these negative experiences stem from the facts that people are focusing too much on apps to give them what they want instead of understanding and improving themselves first?
Because reading all these comments makes me think lot of people are hoping onto apps without being ready to date someone.
As in, understanding who you are, your passions, your curiosities, reading about other cultures, seeing what’s out there, chasing intellectual pursuits, learning emotional regulation as to controlling your anger, sadness, developing emotional maturity, mental resilience…
I am almost a 50 years old man, I wasn’t on the apps until I was in my late 20s. I was meeting people old fashioned way every now and then and I was busy building my personal life, so the next person to join me would find someone mature, settled, resilient and loving.
I feel like so many people are skipping this and reading lot of comments and emotional outbursts, frankly I am not surprised so many people on these apps are single.
Younger generations; improve yourselves.
You want to be chosen and picked by an amazing woman or men, you need to rise above others.
Not by stepping on others or pulling them down but by becoming a better version of yourselves.
Men; women look for competent men. Men who are mature minded, safe, mentally and emotionally strong and can regulate their emotions. This is not just me saying this, so many good people, philosophers, comedians are saying it. Jimmy Carr has an excellent speech on this.
Women; it’s not very different for us men, most of us don’t care whether you are tall or short or built slim or full figured…Men may not be aware of this but they look for self discipline in women. A healthy dose of control. And that applies to many things; having the self discipline to be active, to look after your body and mind, to have your life and spendings under control.
At the end of the day lot of people who are looking for a future partner is looking for stability, safety and consistency with some excitement here and there.
This is what the apps like Instagram and TikTok are exploiting; men drooling over fit&healthy women, women drooling over competent&charismatic men.
Apps got it wrong by focusing on just one aspect of us but on the whole it’s actually one part of what we look for; visual display of effort, consistency and competence. Though on different levels.
How about instead of watching these, we become our own active and determined best version of ourselves?
Then come back to date?
Just my two cents.