The dangers of Tinder-like apps and sites
Tinder is a platform number one in the world, both for hookups and for serious dating. Although the majority of members, reportedly, perceive it as a purely casual dating app.
With over 50 million active users, it’s hard to keep it completely safe, no matter how technical and qualitative it gets. Let’s take a look at some of those potential dangers.
Scammers among the users
All popular dating sites promise super good safety, but the more a number of members is growing the less possible complete safety becomes. Tinder isn’t an exception.
Here and there, scammers do register on this platform with the particular purpose of scamming too trusting singles online who do not follow common safety rules.
Scammers may be real persons or not, they may meet you in reality or not, but their final goal is the money. For sure, it requires a constant caution from singles online and offline.
People just should remember that even trendy and top famous apps like Tinder demand being reasonable, particularly, not sending the money to strangers and not giving any financial info.
Automatic bots and fraudulent employees
Some pay-per-message and membership-based dating sites use technologies or strategies for attracting new members and keeping them in the database. It’s hard to say whether Tinder is among them.
But dating and hookup platforms are commercial projects, first of all. On the early stage, many of them use bots or fake members to imitate the intense activity.
For now, Tinder has over 4 million of paid members and this number is constantly growing. So their business goes well, and we don’t know if it includes helpful technologies.
In any case, dating experts suggest to be very careful with whom you are corresponding, and avoid suspicious members who lead shallow talks or confuse the facts in their messages.
Risky meetings and robbery
Of course, it’s the worst variant, and such cases immediately become public. Wrong people and bad things can happen on any platform not depending on how good and legit it is.
The most cautious people go to arranged dates without much cash, on a taxi, with only one bank card having a low balance on it, with a pepper spray and so on.
For some districts and regions, it’s wise, for other ones, it’s a bit extreme. And no doubt such preoccupations are spoiling all the romance or sexual excitement.
One humorous girl was taking a fake police card with her on each date, just in case. But it can create problems with the real police and honestly, doesn’t help much.
Dating experts suggest to learn about a person at least a little bit before meeting him/her, and to ask various tricky questions to check whether a person is after hookup or has side interests.
Catfishers and game players
That’s the easiest part. People who play with other people’s feelings or desires, are rarely good actors, and they’re always recognizable. One just has to gain some experience online.
Catfishers are fraudulent personalities who use another person’s photos and data. Basically, it can be anyone who operates with the photos of models, celebrities, or unknown beauties from social networks.
Usually, they are too impatient and unprofessional to play a long game and create trustworthy stories or lead qualitative talks. They tell about financial difficulties right away.
As to male figures, they often claim they’re widowers with small children, or poor and starving soldiers in the army. Very merciful women send them money, which is a mistake.
Female figures are more creative, they may claim to live in the poorest regions of Africa, Asia, or let’s say in a war area in Ukraine. It’s simply silly to believe and volunteer for them.
First and foremost, try to date on Tinder only locally, then you’ll not be involved into these long-distance scenarios. Secondly, test them with logical questions and they’ll quickly fail.
How to date on Tinder and swipe-based apps
It became so usual for us to swipe right, swipe left, quickly chose people basing on their appearance. Even older people got used to this process and forgot about their safety.
While swiping and focusing on physical traits only can be dangerous for people’s inner world and values in life, not only for their finances or health and well-being.
Psychologists know about that and never stop to warn the users of such apps and sites. It especially concerns teenagers and very young people whose mental state isn’t stable yet.
We aren’t just our face or our shapes, although these parts reflect our personality as well. Less attractive people happen to be better partners or lovers, so it’s not an indicator at all.
Experts recommend not to lose self-confidence depending on someone’s thumb down, but not to make other people feel bad either. However, it’s unavoidable on swipe-based platforms.
Some developers are already creating the new platforms that will not divide people to handsome and ugly, good and bad, deserving and non-deserving.
There will be an extra possibility to say sorry, you’re cool, just not my type. Dating specialists believe this middle option will grow more popular than thumbing down, and it’s actually healthier.
For now, we can be more polite to real personalities on Tinder and more harsh on fraudulent ones so this optimizes the process of online communication and personal interactions.
Extra safety tips for each user
It isn’t common to lead a long correspondence or profound chatting on Tinder, which makes it a hookup app in most of people’s eyes. Although it could be something much bigger!
If one is after sex on Tinder, he should make sure all details will be discussed in advance and a potential partner will be able to use common sense as well as protection measures.
If one is after love on Tinder, he must remember it’s a rare purpose there and other members shall not be very enthusiastic or trusting enough to build a serious communication.
It is recommended to perceive Tinder as a platform for fun and adult entertainment, in this case it’ll be a pleasant surprise if one finds a more promising relationship.
For sure, this app and site shouldn’t be used for any specialized kind of dating although it is allowed and encouraged by the owners. Specialized dating always involves vulnerable groups of people.
For example, there are plenty of very trendy and efficient dating & hookup platforms for LGBTQ members, so it really makes no sense for them to waste their time on Tinder.
Cubs, or toyboys who are searching for rich mommies, aren’t always that materialistic, it happens they’re very fragile financially and emotionally. It’s better for them to use special cougar apps.
The list of such examples can be pretty long, but the conclusion remains the same, avoid specialized dating on a general dating site created for common purposes.
Another question is what to call fraudulent at all. It’s not a secret that Instagram model type of appearance is the most popular on Tinder and similar sites. But is it real?
With all the fake eyelashes, eyebrows, hair, nails, and now lips and cheekbones, can such a girl be considered sexually attractive? But we keep on rating high such personalities.
People indicate wrong age in their Tinder profiles to seem older or younger. They succeed with these actions, and attract more users with the help of fake information.
There are much more tricks like that used on swipe-based applications. Although some indecent experts advise members to use them for a better efficiency, it’s not pleasant to deal with them.
After all, it’s like scamming as well, but sexual scamming. People lie to get sex, and there’s no even guarantee it will be qualitative or mutually satisfying.
Since Tinder is one of the most populated dating platforms in the world at the moment, and new alternatives are appearing too slowly, it surely makes sense to be a member of it.
However, it’s really more honest and effective to remain within the framework of etiquette and transparency, unless you date anonymously or use bold pickup techniques.