Amelia, 31. University of Alaska Fairbanks. Yukon College. Grad student, artist and musician. Happy to be back up North after a year at school! Small truck and a big dog.
That, my friends, is my Tinder profile.
Tinder is one of of numerous dating apps, where you swipe left or right photos of people on your phone, a pass or like, and if two people like each other, they match and can chat. You can like up to 100 people a day in your area on Tinder with a free profile. It’s the only video game I play these days.
The same company that runs Tinder owns OkCupid.com, which is my personal favourite in big cities, and Match.com – actually 45 dating sites and apps in all.
There are lots of new online dating apps coming out all the time including Bumble, where women must message first within 24 hours. And yes, there are men on Bumble in the Yukon, I checked.
Sadly, PlentyofFish.com still dominates our frozen pond with their poor web design and Myspace-era overload of features and notifications. You’re a kinder-hearted woman than me if you can see past all the frequent spelling errors and ballcap-sunglasses-fishing pictures (what do you look like, man?!).
This is the first of four articles I’ll be writing about online dating in the Yukon in this most crucial of dating seasons, the end of summer. I’ll be focusing on the uses and abuses of Tinder for the most part.
Dating can be tough up here. You feel like you know everybody, but you don’t. And how to find out if that new cutie is single in a non-awkward way? At least, with online dating, you know they are single and looking.
One of the things that is different about Tinder-ing in the north is that you’ll have 100+ Facebook friends in common with a match – Tinder accesses your Facebook photos, friends and ‘likes’ to build a profile. So, it’s pretty easy to ask a close friend for some more deets.
I’ve decided to call this the Tinder crowdshare. Not actually sharing with a crowd. But when you go on a date here, people immediately ask, with who?
Dating is almost a public activity in a small town. The best quote I’ve gleaned so far from a Tinder crowdshare is, “Oh man he’s single!? I’ve been trying to hit that since I was 17!”
What higher recommendation could one give, really?
Next week I’ll share the surprising story of what happens when you invite all your local matches to the same barbecue.
Seriously.
I’ll also have a Dawson Tinder Report the following week. Is Tinder even a match for last call at the Pit?
#keepswiping
