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I've been using a dating app for about a month and I have to say that I don't think it's for me—at least for now. I don't know if my opinions on this will change anytime soon. The reason why I use a dating app is because I was bored and curious. Before installing one, I've seen a friend of mine using it and I used her dating app several times just for swiping because I was hesitated to install one on my phone. There's this stigma that if you have a dating app on your phone, it's because you're so desperate to be in relationship—and I don't think I am, hence why I was hesitated to install one. For now, it's more generally accepted especially in my environment.

Prior to using the app, I put the best photo that I have and wrote the bio as interesting as possible. After that, the swiping game began. Sometimes I swipe right just based on the photo, sometimes because they write interesting bio or they have similar interests as me. Matched with some people, chatted with them, and it was fun at first. I got to know a lot of different people in short span of time. After several days, I got bored and decided to ghost everyone.

There are several reasons of why I think dating apps is just not for me. I admit that using dating apps can boost your self-esteem. People probably like you because they see your photos and not actually read your bio. It gave me a quick self-esteem boost, thinking "Wow, there are people out there who are actually interested in me." Growing up, I never thought that I'm super pretty or anything. I'm not pretty nor ugly, just right in the middle. My self-esteem is like a wave, sometimes it's up, sometimes it's down, and using this app makes me feel confident because I get validations from other people. After some time, I realized that it's not healthy and I shouldn't seek for others' validations to feel pretty and confident with myself.

I never take dating apps seriously. It's fun to chat with other people but I'm not looking a relationship through dating apps. I'd rather build a relationship in person because it's important to actually talk to other people face-to-face and not through the screen. To an introvert like me, dating apps are kind of a lifesaver because you don't have to go out and talk to other person, but that's not always the case. When you're talking through the screen, it's hard to know if you have the chemistry or not. The chats seem to be filtered because you're thinking what's the best response before actually answering their chat. Everything just seem pretentious because you're not responding immediately unlike chatting face-to-face. Not to mention that some guys are just trying too hard in the chats and it makes me uncomfortable. I mean, ugh, the small talks and pickup lines are awful.

For those reasons, using dating apps is definitely not for me. It was okay, though. It's just that my initial intention wasn't exactly to find an SO. I only use it for fun. Do I recommend it? Yes. It's fun to have new experiences, but if you don't have the time or not looking for anything serious, it's better to not use it.