Schaefer Shares

In a world full of reality TV based on finding your one true love, it can be challenging to meet new people, no matter what the age. For female college students, apps such as Bumble and Tinder prove useful in meeting new people. Most students have had either or both apps at one point in time, and both still remain popular today. For middle aged women, online dating sites such as match.com are popular in that people pay to use them. Although this might seem ridiculous to some, others like it because if someone is paying for a service, they are much more likely to take it seriously.

Sarah Burton, Kristen Holtan and Olivia Moorhouse are all juniors at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater. All three women downloaded Tinder when they were going into their freshman year of college because they heard a lot about it and thought that it would be an easy way to meet new people. The three agreed that other than meeting possible friends at this time, they were not looking for anything romantically driven.

On the other hand, sisters Holly and Chris Nelson are not looking for friends anymore. Chris is 52 and Holly is 49 years old, making them both single, middle-aged women. Both feel that they have enough friends at this point, and would only be dating if they are romantically interested. Chris had recently joined match.com, and has chatted with a few men that share similar interests. After being on the site for less than two months, she has already found someone that she enjoys being around. Holly has not joined any online dating services. She said, “I don’t feel ready to do it quite yet.” Which is relatively normal in our technologically driven world.

The college students also share different opinions on the overall experience of dating apps. Moorhouse is somewhat of an avid user and has met a few new people through both apps. Regarding who she decides to meet she said, “It’s usually somebody who can hold a good conversation and shows that their genuinely interesting and we have things in common. All of that generally makes it more comfortable to hang out with in person.” While Moorhouse feels comfortable meeting people from online, Holtan does not. She said, “I didn’t really see the point in it, I’d rather meet people in person so I actually know who I’m talking to.” Tinder and Bumble are both relatively safe, but just like any other app or website, privacy remains a top concern.

There is a clear difference between the interests of a 20 year-old college student versus a middle-age mother. Despite their common differences, all of the women stressed that their biggest concern was knowing if who they were speaking to online was really who they said they were. No matter how they feel, it all boils down to the safety that sites and apps are able to provide. The common trend of online dating will continue to be very popular as secure sites are upgraded and managed to the best of their team’s abilities.