Dating a Single Father



This is not one of the most controversial topics when it comes to dating, and definitely not one of the most uncommon ones. But simple as it may seem, after I found myself dating men with children twice in the past 6 months, I realised that in reality, it’s a way more complex topic than we think. Just to clarify what I’m talking about: this article is about single men with children – they might have been married before or just had a long-term girlfriend, but at present they are single fathers. If you found yourself dating a single father you would have realised the baggage that comes with them and if this was your first time (and possibly had a significant age difference as well), you noticed that they are not as easy to date as men without children. So this is the story of Jeff and Ronnie, both of them single fathers.

  Jeff is 31 and father to two children, one boy and one girl, both under the age of 5. The story with Jeff is simple and plain – we started dating and about a fortnight into it I received a text saying “I don’t have time for a relationship, my kids keep me crazy busy. Is casual sex ok?” I was itching to reply “Since you put it so nicely, how could I refuse?”...that never happened! I said no it was not ok, I never indicated that was what I was looking for and he never did either. So when I said no he said ‘Ok, I will delete your number” and that was that. I didn’t put much thought into it, I just wrote him off as just another jerk. When I met Ronnie though, I had to rethink the whole ‘dating men with children’ situation.

 Ronnie is 29 and father of a boy, aged two and a half. (I just need to mention here how weird it is for me to introduce in an article a guy and his children – I guess there’s a first for everything!) I met Ronnie about two weeks ago – he is one of my friend’s housemate and when I stayed over at hers for the weekend Ronnie and I became quite close. Well more than that actually: one of the nights I was there they threw a house party and we ended up sleeping together, both a bit drunk. I was ready to write the whole thing off as a one-night-stand by the next morning, when I saw that Ronnie wanted to actually get to know me. I wasn’t sure at first , given my past single father experience, but then I started getting into him and decided to give it a go.



  The weekend went by so fast and when I returned to my fast-paced city-life I was surprised to find out that Ronnie still wanted to keep in touch and started texting me. So about ten days went by with back and forth funny and flirty texting - comfortable and easy going - when he decided to drop a bomb-question.  A couple of days ago, during a lazy afternoon, I received a text from Ronnie “ I have to ask you something: Do you see this as friends with benefits or do you like me more than that?” You know when you are dating a guy and this question keeps racing through your mind until you finally have to ask it? It didn’t even occur to me this time! I liked talking to Ronnie, I liked kissing him and sleeping with him and I liked getting to know him – but I never thought beyond that. Most girls would love to have the guy clarify the big question this early, but I just didn’t know what to say! So I simply said: “I don’t just want to be friends with benefits, I tried that and it didn’t end well (my tragic end with Mat kept ringing a bell in my mind at that point), but I don’t know yet how I see this. I might like you more than that, but I’m just getting to know you so I can’t tell yet..” And just when I thought I had escaped the uncomfortable question easily, Ronnie let it all out “I don’t want to scare you or anything, but I’m almost thirty years old and a dad. I know what I want and I’m looking to settle down. I fancy you and I enjoy getting to know you, but I get that you are in your early 20s and you need to live your life now”.  I have to admit I was anxious now, so I had to tell him the truth: I’m not ready to settle down, there are so many things I want to do with my life: I need to finish my masters, get a job, travel around, find myself... How could I know what I want now? So to make a long story short, after a conversation Ronnie and I decided that we’ll take it as it goes, and pretty much we are on the same page... for now.

 But what troubles me is not what’s going to happen with Ronnie in the future. He’s great until now and I’ll just take things as they come...  but after our conversation I couldn’t keep myself from thinking about what had happened with Jeff and comparing the two. Jeff is not just the jerk I thought he was – he’s someone that clearly knows what he wants, and he knows I wasn’t it. So he just thought he’d get the best out of our short dating-life. And it’s reasonable: they are looking to settle down; they are dads. They have huge responsibilities and priorities; the last thing they want to worry about is a troubled dating life. But even if they are the one type of guy that knows what they want, I can’t help but wondering: How can we be on the same page? If I don’t have those responsibilities, and what I want to do right now is live life to the fullest, how can a single father and I make it work? and even worse, could it be that I like the idea of a single father because of the responsibility and experience that comes with them, but deep down I know that it will never work? and if so, why do I keep dating them?



 Just like with most of my dating choices, I know why I choose them: they are a form of challenge. Something so different from me and from what I know that I have to try. Plus, I like the idea of sleeping with a man that has two different sides to him in two different situations – as weird as this sounds. And there’s another major factor that all girls should keep in mind when it comes to dating single fathers: you will always come second! And of course, it’s reasonable – their priority is their children. But just like I don’t know how to behave around children, I don’t know how to behave with a man whose life revolves around a child. Maybe I’m not cut out for this, or maybe I’m too young for it. But either way, I decided to still see Ronnie for the coming future for as long as this lasts. As long as we are on the same page, we might as well stick to it – whether this lasts a week or a month. As long as we are both having fun then there is nothing more to question right now!

 What is your opinion about dating single fathers? Would you do it or have you done it? And what did you think of it? How did it turn out? Comment and let me know!!



How To ‘Handle’ Your Man


With one of the most regularly asked dating questions being how to treat or behave towards your man when in a relationship it was unavoidable for me to write a post on the subject. Many of you might misjudge the title and ask ‘how can there be a certain way to behave with all guys’? Everyone is different right? Yes, that’s true. But in most cases, there are a few things that every girl should keep in my mind when it comes to her man. From my experience, and from my friend’s experiences, I noticed that there are some specific matters that keep coming up all the time when it comes to relationships and the ways girls behave when dealing with their men. So after making the same mistakes over and over (and over again), I finally learnt a couple of things that I’d like to share with you. So here are the ways of how to deal with your man, and a few ways to ‘handle’ him:

Don’t Hurt his Ego

Probably the most important thing you have to remember when it comes to your man. Men are, from nature, proud. Most of them are proud to the point where they won’t even come to say sorry even when they are wrong; they will simply come back to you and pretend like everything is ok when they know they are wrong in a fight. I made that mistake with Mat once and I don’t think he ever saw me again the same after that. One night, somewhere between a fight and the tears I was fighting to keep back I started shouting and telling him that he was a ‘miserable low-life’ who will never be happy because he doesn’t have the balls to go after whatever he wants from his life. I actually said that! Next thing I knew I looked up at him and he was in tears, which naturally made me cry as well and started apologising immediately. But it was too late; the damage was done. Matt never looked at me the same way again and I can’t forgive myself for that. I didn’t just hurt his ego; I killed it. I don’t think anyone ever spoke to him so bluntly and brutally before. So when it comes to this, learn from my mistake and make sure you don’t hurt your man’s ego, it’s the one thing that men are really proud about!

Understand That He Will Never Say ‘I’m sorry’

This very much relates to my previous point, but the sooner you understand this, the better! He just won’t do it. You might be having the biggest fight and he might be 100% wrong... but he will never admit it. So learn to deal with it and don’t pursue an apology. Instead, what you should do is look for those little signs that for him scream ‘I’m sorry!’ He will probably come back to you after a fight when he’s wrong and pretend that nothing is wrong. He might also put in some extra effort be a little sweeter than usually, or more attentive; he might come back with your favourite ice cream or movie and hold you all night long. So instead of expecting a ‘I’m sorry card’ with the ‘I’m sorry’ flowers, which will never arrive learn to appreciate the little signs that show you how sorry he is.


Let him do the chase

 From nature, men are predators. This is what they are supposed to do and you better let them. Don’t chase after your guy all the time, don’t take charge all the time... let him chase you. This will not only make him feel better, but he will also love you more for it. Let him miss you and let him ask you out... make him fight for it. They love a good challenge and they love the chase too.

Give him his space

This is where most women have trouble with a lot of the time. Stop bombarding him with 10 messages an hour – no you don’t have to talk every minute of every day. You don’t need to spend every waking minute together and you definitely don’t need to be sleeping at his place every night of the week. Let him do his thing, let him go out and have a guys-night-out if he wants to. If you have a fight, let him cool down – he will come back eventually when he’s ready. If you don’t do that, he will feel like he can’t breathe and eventually leave you to find his space. Maybe it helps to see it this way: being with someone doesn’t mean not having a life, it simply means making room for the other person in your own life. You both have your lives besides each other, and that needn’t change. Jut accommodate each other in your lives, don’t change them completel

Stay on good term with his friends

Just like your girlfriends’ opinions mean a lot to you, so do the opinions of his friends. So you have every reason to approach his friends and keep a good relationship with them. If you manage to get along perfectly then you have all the forces going with you. So don’t underestimate them and for your sake don’t try to make your guy distance his friends.... he will choose them over you. Encourage your man to spend time with his friends and even invite them over for a home-cooked meal while they watch their favourite football team. They will love you for it, and your guy will be proud of you. If his friends keep telling him what a ‘great girl’ he has, how can he even imagine leaving you?

 So this is a list of all the ways you can ‘handle’ your man to keep him next you longer and always stay on good terms with him. Do you have any more to add to this list or do you disagree with anything? Comment and let me know!



His Point Of View: ‘Should I leave my girlfriend?’

It’s all so nice and convenient when it’s just us girls talking, giving our opinions to each other, and assuming that every time he will decide not to leave his girlfriend. But this time, I don’t want you to rely on just what I’m saying or my experiences. This time I want to give you a man’s point of view... because it’s one thing to read what I think on the topic, and it’s quite another to think what a man has to say. And because this topic seems to be the most popular one on my website, I was more than thrilled when John emailed me with his dating adventures, which fall along the same lines as most of my readers concerns.  So this is what John wrote to me and what I replied:



Hi-

My name is John. I am 23 years old, and currently a senior in high school. You probably think this is very strange that I am emailing you, but I am in desperate need of help. I went to the damn internet for help, because all my friends are trying to tell me what to do, but I can't help but question what they say. So I am going to tell you my story, and hopefully you can help me out. 


I have been dating this girl for over a year now. She is my best friend, and a really great girlfriend. She is super attractive, nice, outgoing, athletic and funny. She is basically my dream girl. I fell in love with her, and even lost my virginity to her. It's the cliche bullshit you see in the movies. I am one of the captains of our football team, and she is the popular, beautiful girl everyone knows and loves. We are basically that power couple, that everyone always awes over. Now, there is another girl. Her name is Nadia, and my god the sun shines down on that girl. Nadia has this something in her, that nobody I have ever met has. She has this charm to her that just makes you want to talk to her all day. I never get bored of hearing her voice, or looking into her eyes. Nadia and I have been very close friends every since my girlfriend, Helen, and I have been together. I didn't start developing feelings for Nadia till this past September. Over the summer she and I had a really weird talk while we were drunk about what it would be like if were together. Ever since then it has been a constant battle between Nadia and Helen. I love Helen, I really do. But in the past couple of months I have noticed we lost the spark we use to have, we aren't the same couple and we are fighting a lot more. Also, Nadia and I have gotten closer than ever. I sometimes enjoy talking to her more than my own girlfriend. It's bad. I know that. I am basic emotionally cheating on my girlfriend, and if you gave me a couple of shots probably physically very soon. I know Nadia is into me, she tends to get drunk quite a lot and express her feelings over the phone. I am just really torn. I am comfortable with Helen, and I know what we are like. I know what to expect with her, and we know how to deal with one another by now. I think I am more scared of not having someone, I think that is what is holding me back from breaking up with Helen. I don't know if I love Helen anymore, all I know is I can't get Nadia out of my head. Can you please help me out? 



 Hello John,

I can't tell you how glad I am to have received this email from you. You give me a different point of view and something that so many women are worrying about. Despite being in the same situation, you don't want to cheat on your girlfriend and  have an affair with someone else, for both their sakes. And I admire you for that; not many men would choose the high road when it comes to girlfriend and mistress.

Now, deep down you know what I'm going o tell you - do all three of you a favour and leave Helen. It is evident love her, and of course you would after being in a relationship with her and going through so much together, but you are just not in love with her anymore. You are falling for someone else, and there's nothing wrong with that - as long as you are honest with everyone. If you stay with Helen, chances are you will have an affair with Nadia in the end... and this is how it will end up: You won't leave Helen, because you can have them both now, but you will feel torn, about cheating on Helen and about not being able to truly be with Nadia. You will hurt Nadia, more than anyone, because she will be there waiting for you to leave Helen and putting up with everything. And finally, you will hurt Helen too, whether she finds out or not.
 But, if you leave Helen, you will be able to cherish the good moments that you had with her before your relationship deteriorated. You won't end up fighting all the time, like you do now, but you will know that whatever you had was great, but now it's over. You will be able to move on to someone else that you truly like and in the end you will set Helen free to move on, if you are not in love with her.
Finally, I want to thank you for being honest with how you feel. I know it's easy to be with Helen after so much time, and most men fear being alone. But this is life, you have to take a risk or two and it might not always end up where you want it to and you might get hurt somewhere on the way, but it's all part of the experience. You will live through something with Nadia unique and different.. for as long as it lasts. Helen is your comfort zone right now, but magic happens outside your comfort zone.

So all in all, I would advice you to break up with someone that you are not really in love with and be grateful for all the good memories you had together. But it's time for something new and don't be scared; Nadia is someone you like and someone you might end up with and be crazy in love - and there is nothing wrong with this.

Please do email me back if you need anything else, or to tell me if I have helped at all. I really wish everything turns out for the best and you make the right choices for all three of you.


Best wishes,
 Dating City Girl

 For a minute there, I thought everything would turn out great this time. I thought that since
he had asked, he would probably the one man that wouldn’t follow the usual pattern, that he would change it, leave Helen for the girl he has fallen for and all three of them would move on with their lives, happier than before. But, a couple of days later, John replied to my email. Unfortunately, he didn’t fail to fall short of the high expectations that I had, and do the same mistake that all men do: choose comfort. So this is what he said to me:

 Hello-


Thanks for the advice. I am still confused with how I feel, but I am sure that it will work out in the end. I am still with Helen, and I actually just told Nadia that maybe we need to distance ourselves. I don't want to hurt her, she doesn't deserve that. I am sticking with Helen, and seeing how this all plays out. I will of course keep you updated, and yes you can use my email


Thanks for the help
John

As much as I was hoping for one guy to prove me wrong, unfortunately John proved me right. I wanted to believe that at least this time it would be real, he would go for the girl he had fallen for and risk it. But as reality proves it, they never do leave their girlfriends. So there you have it, not just my point of view, but a guy’s point of view as well, who faces the same dilemma.


Did you think my reply was good? What did you think he should have done? COMMENT and let me know! 

Who's a Perfect Little Girl?

  

This morning I woke up to an email from a girl, asking me how she should behave to make a good impression, and to be ‘girlfriend material’, which, unsurprisingly, got me thinking about being perfect. We always look for Prince Charming, that one perfect guy who will swipe us off our feet and make us ride off into the sunset with him.  But, as idealistic (and unrealistic!) that is, let’s quit talking about Prince Charming for a second, and reflect back on ourselves.

 Which one of you can actually stand up and honestly say she fits the criteria for Cinderella? After reading that email, I was shocked. I thought that by now, all girls of a certain age and dating experience must have realized that the fairy is not exactly coming true with Prince Charming and Cinderella (or Sleeping Beauty for that matter), primarily because both characters simply don’t exist! It seems that a lot of girls have a distorted image of how they should be, and naturally, feel like they fall short of some unrealistic criteria that they impose on themselves. And who’s to blame them? Movies, fairytales and magazines put so much pressure on us, giving us a view of how a girl/woman should look, act, talk to impress and to be considered elegant and desirable. So I don’t know about all of you out there, but if it helps, I will tell you about myself!

  I’m not a princess, in fact I fall from grace with a loud ‘thud’ and probably land on my ass. And that happens a lot. I can’t walk gracefully on heels to save my life; in fact, I trip over completely flat surfaces, even wearing trainers. I will never have the perfect hair for all occasions; in fact, my hair is so big and messy that I’m lucky to get it under control most days. I will never have the perfect body and I don’t even need to, I’m not going to be on Next Top Model. Most of the time I’ll just say the first thing that comes to my mind without even thinking, which more often than not, is extremely embarrassing... but honestly who cares! I’m not going out trying to be a Princess, I will laugh my heart out and not care if everyone is staring if I feel like it. In fact, I believe that if I had to identify myself with someone, it would be Bridget Jones. Having watched that movie more than 50 times, I can see myself in so many things, that I feel like I’m laughing at myself every time. And I don’t even care. I will say one thing and mean another, I will embarrass myself, throw my Marlborough lights a million times in the drain before I finally manage to quit smoking, spend whole days in my bed just because I’m bored to get up and get dressed. I will binge eat every time I get nervous, wear a mismatching pair of socks and definitely not always have perfectly shaved legs. And the list goes on and on, but my point is that there is no such thing as a perfect little girl, that will make men go crazy for her because she simply fits all the criteria.

  Let’s face it: there will always be people that will turn us down, no matter how you look, sound, wear, etc. And for the reader that emailed me, if your goal is to impress with who you are, how can you judge who you should be, if there will always be people that won’t like you? So what does it even matter? And it’s so exhausting trying to be someone that you are not, it’s just not worth the trouble. And frankly, who would want that? There are not many people like you in this world, so instead of spending time trying to  impress other people, how about doing things to impress yourself? Maybe instead of trying to be ever so elegant, try to learn a new skill, a new language, or write a paper. It doesn’t matter, as long as it pleases you.



  And keeping all the instances that we fall short of the princess criteria, how about stop looking for Prince Charming? If we are not perfect, and no one said we should be, why is it that we keep looking for a perfect guy? Imagine how much better this world would be, if we found that one guy who is perfect for us and love him to the point that it doesn’t even matter anymore? Maybe I sound too idealistic now, but having fallen hard for two guys who definitely were not Prince Charming, with the standards that most women set, I learnt that it doesn’t matter. Because in the end, when you fall for someone, you will realise he’s probably far from meeting the criteria that you had set before falling in love, but you won’t care at all. And the sooner all girls realise this, the better. Just as you are not perfect, stop looking for that perfect guy who is going to look like Brad Pitt and behave like Edward Cullen. Who wants that? I wouldn’t fall for anyone like that, it’s just simply creepy - and I don't want to risk the 'glowing' part! Besides, the whole point of falling in love with someone is falling for all of their imperfections that seem perfect to you.

So to the reader that emailed me this morning asking how she can be the ‘perfect girl’ and to all of you out there who have this question: that girl does not exist! You are perfect just the way you are. You have flaws but so does everyone. And learn to love them, because how else do you expect someone else to do so if you can’t do it yourself? Learn to love yourself before expecting someone else to do that, and everything else will fall into place. Because afterall, the most important relationship, the most complex one and significant one is the one you have with yourself; and if you find someone to love you for that, then that’s just fabulous!


 What do you think? Is there a way that a girl should act, dress, talk to impress? Or is it better to just be yourself? Comment and let me know!

Should I End It?



Dear Dating City Girl,

  I am writing because I’m currently in what seems to be a dead end. I’ve been with my boyfriend for three years now. We had one of those relationships that most people wish to have; we were best friends and lovers. We had the best of times together and we had the worst of times together. We loved each other so much. We had our ups and downs, both of them were intense. But now, it’s been a few months that I feel that things have changed, on both ends. Don’t get me wrong, I still love him. But I don’t know if it’s because of habit or if I’m still in love with him. The past few months are kind of a haze for me. It feels like we are drifting apart. We are still together, but not really. We don’t talk to each other as much, we fight most of the time when we do and it just doesn’t feel the same anymore. I used to miss him every time I didn’t get to see him even for two days. Now I just don’t care that much. Sometimes I’m just bored. And when we are together, it rarely feels the same. There used to be a time when we couldn’t keep our hands off each other and we would never run out of things to say. Now I sometimes catch him staring at the ceiling lost in his thoughts, and sometimes I try to win him back, but sometimes I just don’t care to bother. Every time I fight for us to go back to the way we were, I find myself wondering whether I do it because I really want him in my life, if I miss the way we were or maybe just the idea of it, or if I just do it out of habit, just because I’m so used to being with him. I haven’t loved anyone else the way I love him... but the thing is I don’t know if I even love him that way anymore. Am I falling out of love?  I’m so lost. I’m thinking that maybe I should end it, but I don’t know if I should and for what. Please help me.

Lost-and-confused




Dear lost-and-confused,

Thank you for your email. I’ve been there, and I was in such a state of confusion that I didn’t know what to do. It’s one of those times, that you can actually hear your brain scream louder than your heart, because your emotions don’t consume you anymore. Your mind is ‘split’, but not your heart. The only thing that you are heart is probably telling you, is that you should let go. What you are thinking though is that you love him, and that’s out of the question, but probably for the wrong reason. You will always love him, but staying with him because you are just used to it is a different matter. It’s not fair to you or to him, so do yourselves a favour and break it off. You don’t have to wait until it’s too late, and all your good memories get replaced by fights or nights that you both sat next to each other but felt miles apart. I get where you are coming from, but sometimes these things come to an end, and it’s better to end it on good terms, rather than waiting until you both get tired of each other and come to the point where you can’t stand each other.


 You should also keep in mind that the feeling of confusion that you feel right now, that feeling of not really wanting to bother... that’s falling out of love. I’ve been through that and it took me a while to realize what it was. There’s no specific feeling that can describe it,
besides emptiness. It’s sort of a time period that you go through a phase where you feel blank. You don’t feel hurt or heartbroken, but you don’t feel in love, happy or content. You basically and literally feel nothing. And once in a while, every blue moon, you feel depressed. You recall all the good memories that you had with the person who is probably laying next to you in bed, look at him and miss the good moments that are long gone. However, when that feeling comes you know that what you miss most of all, is the idea of him, or the idea of you two together. What you don’t miss is him specifically. You are in love with the idea of love, but not with the person. That’s how you know you are falling out of love. And if that’s what you are going through, it’s better to end it sooner rather than later... And let me tell you why!

 Imagine three months from now, you two fighting and shouting every day. And every time you two decide to meet it’s more of a burden to you than it is a pleasure. You two either fight to the point where you don’t talk to each other for months or you go to the other extreme where you ignore each other’s presence. It’s like there is an elephant in the room that you don’t talk about. And for what? So that you spend so much time replacing all the good memories you had together with fights, tears or just ignorance and at the end possibly even hatred. Do you really want to get there? I don’t think so. So do both of you a favour and end it now. You’ll see that when your recover from the break up, you will still be able to reserve for each other the respect that you both deserve and you will look back to your relationship and recall fond memories instead of just fights and tears.


  It’s great that you managed to share so many good years together, but good things sometimes do end, and you might both love each other but what you two had is over. So let go sooner rather than later, whatever happens from now is just too little too late. Get back on your feet and look ahead, both of you, go on with your lives, don’t get stuck in a dead-end relationship.

I hope I have helped you and that you will decide to do what’s best for you in the end.

Lots of love,


Dating City Girl 

What do you think? Have I given he right advice? What would you do differently? Comment and let me know!!

Tinder... Swipe left or right?


 With Tinder making such a massive appearance in the world of dating, I found it unavoidable not to write anything about it. I actually avoided writing anything about it because I felt that I couldn’t make my mind up about how I feel, but after a while I decided that maybe it’s time to put my thoughts down in writing.

For those of you who don’t know - and I imagine it’s very few of you - Tinder is a dating application. It’s really easy to use, you sign up with Facebook, a few photos of you get uploaded and then you go through a list of guys, swiping left if you don’t like them and right if you do. If two of you swipe right to each other then it’s a match and you can start talking to each other. It’s basically an application that lets you decide solely on looks, and occasionally people may write a couple of sentences about themselves, or a quote. It’s nothing more than that.


Swiping Right for.. Tinder!

 Tinder is easy to use, it’s simple and the best thing about it is that you don’t get random messages from people you don’t like or weirdos that keep texting you because you never replied to them. You choose who you talk to.

 I downloaded Tinder maybe a year ago, and I found myself flipping through photos of numerous guys pointlessly for nights on end. I actually dated a couple of guys for a while from Tinder, but it didn’t work out. Gabriel was the first guy I met from Tinder ( see When is it Too Early to Start Liking Someone?) and Aaron was the second (see Threesomes...Three Times the Pleasure or the Trouble?). None of them worked out for separate reasons, but I had a good time with both of them while it lasted. Many of my friends started using Tinder after that. Shayla for example, met a guy through Tinder quite recently and things have been going quite well. One of my friends however, got introduced to Tinder tonight! She knew all about it, but never actually bothered to download it. When we had the conversation about the most fashionable dating application of the day, Vivi suddenly told us that she never used it. We had her signed up in five minutes and there she was tindering away all night long...



Swipe Left for... Tinder!

I have to admit, it was somehow exciting seeing someone that had not used Tinder getting carried away with it on the first night of using it. In fact, she got so absorbed that she hardly spoke to us for an hour.  After sometime I decided to go see what was going on and I found her looking at photos and swiping left within milliseconds of looking at someone. When I asked her why she never swiped right she said ‘No one is my type’. How is that even possible? She swiped through photos of all types of men: blondes, brunettes, tall, short, with beard, clean-shaven, blue-eyed, dark-eyed, and the list goes on and on. How could she not find anyone she liked?

 And suddenly the excitement that I had for introducing her to Tinder, faded away. I knew that Vivi is really picky when it comes to guys, but while I watched  her aimlessly swiping left to tens of guys and then looking up to her expressionless face, I couldn’t help but wonder: How vain do we really become with this application? We look at someone and decide we don’t like them because his nose is too big, or his hair is too long, or his beard is too long, or because he’s making a silly face or wearing a bright coloured T-shirt. But honestly, are all these grounds for dismissal? We tend to forget that all these are people, and someone that you might have thought has a big nose, might turn out to be the real deal. We learn to take a look on someone and decide whether we like them or not, but whatever happened to physical contact? I walk around London and see people fetching their morning Startbucks while flipping through photos on Tinder, but what do they really think about when they flip through those photos?

 And that’s the least of it. Apparently, having talked to both guys and girls that have used Tinder, I found out that there are two main opinions out there about men and women on tinder: The men are just looking to get laid and apparently, the women on Tinder are emotionally fucked up!  Who says these things? As if it’s not enough that both sexes fall into gender social construction every minute of every day in the real world, we have to go through the stereotyping in the world of Tinder as well?

 After a while, Vivi looked up and just said ‘This is sad’. She switched off her phone and threw it on the couch. And seriously, who’s to blame her? This is sad! We judge people based on their appearance in two photographs and then we expect to find Prince Charming. Let me tell you, you won’t find him riding his horse and posing with his sword in hand for his Tinder profile photo. So put your phone down and look around you. You might miss bumping into someone in the middle of the street that you could potentially like because you have your face glued on your phone. Whatever happened to the good old fashioned way of meeting guys? A simple, ‘the weather seems promising today’ to the cute guy next to you at your local Starbucks, might gain you a good conversation and potentially a date.

 You can keep tinder if it’s just for fun, but for all of you out there that expect to find a real relationship out of it, let me tell you it’s even harder than the real world. As for me,  I might still log on Tinder every now and then before falling asleep at night for a few minutes, but I don’t believe that anything serious might come out of it. And maybe I will meet a few more guys, but I stopped thinking that’s the way to go. I just do it for fun now and if anything good comes out of it then great and if not... I didn’t have high standards for this application to begin with.


 What do you think? Have you used Tinder? Please comment and share your experience with me!