'This is catastrophic': Twitter users discuss the rise of online dating and the fall of meeting people through friends or at school

Emmy Pratt • Senior Editor

Dec 16, 2023 6:00 PM EST

I won't stand here and lie to y'all and say that I love online dating apps. It can be humiliating to sell yourself as a concept to strangers over text for several days, only to meet up and not feel anything. It's lame that dating can feel like such a chore. I often feel as if there's no real way to meet somebody organically, resigning myself to the apps for the rest of my days.

That being said, online dating has produced so many success stories that it's hard to argue with its usefulness as a tool. My friend Hannah is still dating the same guy she went on her first Tinder date with in 2019! Dating apps get people in the same room that wouldn't have otherwise met, and the social utility of that cannot be overstated. Even though these apps are increasingly effective, people are still catastrophizing about them online, mourning the loss of other means of meeting people.