Why Everyone Hates Online Dating

There is no question that online dating is changing the human experience. Daters evaluate photos, read a few facts, and decide whether to pursue the person in the profile. Dating apps give so many options, and, of course, it can give analysis paralysis. There is such a thing as having too many options. But the people I have talked to about their experience on dating apps all seem to say the same thing: They hate the apps. They’ve told me the apps can be a good way to meet people, but in general, they are having a pretty miserable experience. Yet they are still engaging in them. The reasons people don’t like the apps are different, depending on whether they are male or female. 

I’m fascinated by the online dating world. I have never actually engaged in online dating, only because when I was of the age when online dating apps came on the scene, I was in a long-term relationship with my boyfriend, and I had longer relationships thereafter. I just never had a need to date online, but that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t have. I understand why people do it. Times are changing, culture is changing, and people find dating online to be more convenient. I think this is especially the case as you get older because your lifestyle changes. Maybe you’re not hitting the bar every Friday and Saturday and brunching all day on Sunday. Maybe you want to stay home more. Maybe you’re cooking more. So, you’re not meeting as many people. All of that makes sense to me. But people overwhelmingly say they don’t love the app experience.