Digital dating dilemma

Graphic by Mylena Bovo

In my opinion, this isn’t a matter of a yes or no question, because the answer should be fairly obvious: Yes, dating apps are and have been consistently ruining college romantic efforts for millions of young adults currently attending post-secondary institutions for years now. As a student myself, and as someone who has also been single my whole life, I have learned firsthand that dating apps break down boundaries in terms of geography, while providing you the place to find that one right person you want to spend the rest of your life with.

For some, that’s great, as they may not mesh as well with people in their own college as they could with people from other institutions, with those potentially even being out of state. But, for someone like me who, again, has never had a relationship, the sea being that wide open just makes it that much harder to make yourself stand out. The countless hours spent on these dating apps by myself and hundreds of thousands of others to no avail can be draining for one’s confidence. To know that you could potentially find your someone if the year was 1995 instead of 2025, and technology wasn’t to a point where dating apps were achievable, is infuriating to think about.

There is an argument to be made, however, for the “no” segment of this whole topic. These apps open up barriers for millions, as previously mentioned. If you are in a college where your political ideology doesn’t match up with the majority of the campus, no worries, just get a dating app to go get someone from states away whose campus does meet your qualifications politically.

The main issue with this idea is that this subset of people is a massive minority compared to the millions of people whose self-confidence is beaten into the ground each and every single day by scrolling for hours and not having one match pop up on Tinder, Bumble, Hinge, okCupid, or the dozens of other dating apps.

And, also, while it doesn’t fully relate to the question, another important aspect of these apps that very often goes overlooked is the immense price tag associated with them. College students are notoriously strapped for money, and the subscription services offered by Tinder and the like come with absolutely absurd price tags. Also free versions of these apps exist, Tinder’s services range from $10 a month to an unbelievable $500 a month for their invite only VIP service. Hinge’s range from $30 to $50, and Bumble’s from $20 to $80. It is insane that, with college students being the primary market for these apps, that they jack up the prices so much, but, as we know by now, these companies will do anything to make a buck.

Overall, a lot adds up to the fact that dating apps really just aren’t worth using if you are in college in 2025, or just living in general. Are they ruining college romance? Not necessarily, but they are 100% ruining attempts at college romance before they can get off the ground.