In the digital age, the dating scene has drastically changed; instead of meeting in bars or through mutual friends, many people meet their partners-to-be on dating apps.
This includes San Francisco-based dating coach Alan Chan, who said he spent about a year and a half on dating apps after a long-term relationship from the age of 20 to 26, until he met his fiancée on Tinder.
“I was very new to the dating app scene,” Chan said. “By the time I matched with my fiancée, I was so tired of it. I was like, ‘Let’s just go on dates and have fun.’”
A 2019 Pew Research Center poll found that three in 10 surveyed U.S. adults have used a dating site or app; although Chan recommended dating apps as a tool, he said people shouldn’t solely rely on them to find a partner.
“Dating apps are probably where you’re going to meet someone,” Chan said. “I would also recommend attending parties, … especially if you’re a full-time worker, which most of us are, it’s very hard to meet people.”
Since meeting his fiancée, Chan started coaching others in finding partners, including one client who found a girlfriend after two weeks.
“Every day you’re out is an opportunity to meet someone,” Chan said. “All it takes is eye contact, a smile and a conversation.”
Communications major Sophie Everett, 22, said they met their current partner of three years on Hinge; however, they said they wouldn’t push dating apps onto others just because of their good experience.
“I wasn’t looking for anything serious,” Everett said. “He (my partner) was kind of plopped into my lap.”
Everett also said they believe dating apps can be good in some ways.
“You can meet people (on dating apps) that you wouldn’t have met (otherwise),” Everett said.
Julia Le, 19, accounting and film production major, said dating apps aren’t for her.
“I definitely see the value in them,” Le said. “Personally, it just doesn’t work.”
Le said she hasn’t been on dating apps for a while and prefers meeting people organically, but has tried them before.
“I never had a serious relationship that came out of a dating app,” Le said. “People have really good experiences there, but the good experiences are few and narrow compared to the vast majority.”
A 2024 Computers in Human Behavior study found that people who meet on dating apps have less stable marriages.
Accounting major Larry Maciel, 20, said he thinks dating apps are horrible.
“People have unrealistic expectations whenever they go on one,” Maciel said. “They expect to find the love of their life or they think that the app is going to solve all their problems.”
A 2024 Pew Research Center study found that while U.S. adults’ perceptions on dating apps skew positive, only 10% of partnered adults met their current significant other through a dating site or app.
Pew’s survey also found that 24% of partnered lesbian, gay or bisexual adults and one in five partnered people under 30 met their partners on dating sites, a far higher rate than other demographics.
Despite his thoughts on dating apps, Maciel also said he has found cool people on them.
“It (a dating app or website) is an OK way to meet people, especially if you’re shy or have anxiety,” Maciel said. “Know what you’re getting into when you download it, and go in without any expectations.”
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