Dating During Lockdown: Everything You Need to Know About Hinge

Everyone's got a slightly different definition of the term 'dating'. To me, it's simply spending time with someone that you're interested in, using that time to get to know each other and gradually assessing whether that relationship should progress. That being said, I assumed that I would spend my years at university not only studying but dating and meeting a variety of people (I was so wrong about that) and well...it turns out that my dating experience would start in the midst of a pandemic and through the use of a dating app. I had somehow concluded that dating apps were for people who had been unsuccessful in love and that downloading an app was their last try at attempting to find someone. Again, I was so wrong. My scepticism not only stemmed from not wanting to seem desperate but fearing that I would come across people that I knew in person, which is inevitable and not as awkward as you would think. My first and quite short-lived experience of using dating apps had begun (and ended) in a matter of weeks, back in 2019. From Tinder to Bumble, I tried, and I tested, I swiped, and I scrolled and was not impressed by the options that were available. However, a close friend of mine soon recommended the app, Hinge, and it was safe to say that it changed the game. Let me explain why. Hinge is an app that is designed to be deleted. In other words, the aim of the app is to connect beyond just matching with someone which hopefully would lead to meeting and deleting the app, and it seems to be working. According to Hinge, '3 out of 4 first dates lead to second dates' and they just so happen to be 'the fastest growing dating app in the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.' That said, I was attracted to the direct approach from the app, an approach that gave me the reassurance that it was possible to meet someone who was open to connecting outside of the app. Was I 100% ready to do that? Not exactly but, it was nice to know that it could be a possibility that I could gradually open up to. The appearance of the app is what captured my interest initially. Hinge goes beyond just posting your name, location, and a few photos. The app allows you to share your virtues and vices such as religious beliefs, whether you are open to having children or not and so much more. App users also have the freedom to hide or share these personal forms of information if they feel as though it is not necessary to the current stage of their dating life. You also get the opportunity to answer three rather refreshing questions or prompts from a limited list. This could be anything from your favourite movie line to sharing the way to your heart. This makes it easier to reveal your personality and preferences, enabling matches to spark a conversation about the things that you're genuinely interested in and vice versa. Another great thing about the app is that as the majority of the world is under some form of lockdown, with the high chance that a lot of people will turn to online dating to meet new people, Hinge now has a video call option for the chance of a remote romance. The app launched the 'date from home' feature and according to Verdict, after just two months of being in lockdown, 64% of users have already had a virtual date. As I mentioned before, I wasn't entirely ready to date when I first downloaded Hinge, which is totally okay. Ironically, dating apps can be used to find new friends as well as romantic partners just as long as one is clear about their intentions. At the beginning of lockdown, as with the rest of the world, I was trying my hardest to adapt to these sudden changes that we were undergoing. It was a time where my friends and I had started to communicate a lot more, yet I still longed to find a connection with someone new. After a bit of persuading from the same friend that introduced me to Hinge in 2019, I was back on the app. This time, unintentionally taking a different approach. I wasn't spending hours swiping and assessing profiles nor did I download the app with the intention of dating. To my surprise, I ended up connecting with a variety of people that I never would've met (virtually), if it wasn't for lockdown (and my friend who successfully got me to download the app again. Thanks, if you're reading this). I connected with people who helped me with my final major project at uni, others that I still speak to here and there on Instagram and someone who I have been dating for a few months now... but we'll save that story for another time.