Matching

Let’s face it, the U.S. election was a polarizing event, and now that it’s over, people in both camps are weary of those in the other. This can make two strangers who meet via a dating app hesitant about each other. Should they talk politics or not? Will political party allegiance be a factor in whether or not the relationship moves forward?

More and more daters are wondering where their dates stand politically than ever before. For many, it’s not about playing politics, but about connecting over shared values. Conservatives and Democrats are very divided in what’s most important on a more personal level, so much so that it can affect romantic relationships.

Selecting your Gender on Tinder

Last month, Tinder rolled out a new feature for its popular dating app that provides daters with more gender options to complete their profiles. Following a similar move by OkCupid, Tinder users will be given more options than just “male” and “female” when selecting a gender.

By selecting the “More” option, users can choose between almost 40 identities, including “non-binary,” “transgender woman,” “transgender man,” “transmasculine,” “agender,” “two-spirit” and “other.” Users can also write in their own gender identity if none of these options apply.

According to website Slate, this was a move forward by Tinder to reach out to the trans community, who have reported being discriminated against and harassed on the app. Trans users were frequently reported as “spam,” or accused of trolling on the app, typically by other users who weren’t happy to be matched with someone who was trans. As a result of this false reporting, trans users often found themselves unfairly blocked, as Tinder didn’t have the capacity to thoroughly verify each complaint.

Though the US Presidential Election is over, the nation remains deeply divided along party lines. Many Americans have made jokes about moving to Canada in the past, but this week, the Canadian immigration website’s server broke down because of all the traffic from unhappy American voters.

Enter Maple Match, a dating app which matches Americans and Canadians for potential romance. The company took an opportunity to make lemonade out of political lemons.

Maple Match was beta testing its service earlier this year, and this month seized the opportunity to launch its new app to help Americans feeling less than happy with their country’s choices. The app's tagline is “make dating great again,” similar to the slogan for President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign.

Maple Match’s technology is straightforward. It offers the same photo-based profile that Tinder does, but there is no swiping. You indicate your citizenship and your desired citizenship, and then you can look through potential matches and start messaging whomever you like.

Dating app Hinge started out with some stiff competition against Tinder. Since its debut in 2012, several other new dating apps have launched and attracted a growing user base as well as media attention, including female-centric dating app Bumble. Meanwhile, after steady growth since its launch, this year Hinge has seen its numbers declining.

Hinge’s marketing and product development have always focused on attracting more serious daters. The app is geared toward young professionals in their late twenties and thirties who are looking for long-term relationships, as opposed to the hook-up reputation that has followed Tinder since its inception. The app is billed as a “grown-up” alternative to the young users of Tinder, which at first seemed to serve the market well.

Online dating is the classic double-edge sword. On one hand, it opens up your dating pool exponentially. Potential partners could be anywhere in the world, and you can surf those infinite matches from the comfort of your couch (preferably while wearing PJs and tucking into your favorite comfort food).

Then there’s the other hand. The PJs are on. You’re curled up on the couch. A package of Oreos awaits. You grab your phone, start browsing and BOOM, there it is: one of these 4 abysmal profiles. Swipe left as fast as your fingers will allow.

Online dating can be a commitment. It’s very rare that online daters meet a perfect match within the first few weeks of signing up – usually it’s a longer process, and we have to cultivate some patience.

That said, it’s easy to get frustrated and quit, only to sign up again weeks later, hoping for a different experience. Or maybe you approach online dating without much motivation, thinking that if you get excited or put too much hope in it, you’re bound to be disappointed.

These aren’t the best approaches to take, obviously. But many times, the fear and sting of rejection can cause us to second-guess ourselves and whether or not we can find someone special. So instead of focusing so much on the rejection, or the potential for rejection, it’s time we looked at online dating for what it really is – a process. Not everyone is going to be a good match with you – in fact, most people aren’t. And we shouldn’t beat ourselves up when we don’t find a relationship quickly, or within a certain period of time.

Online dating requires perseverance, and a lot of effort. It requires motivation, positive energy and outlook, and hope. If you decide to forgo any of these, you won’t get very far. Online dating will become a vicious cycle of disappointment, instead of a practical and efficient way to meet people you wouldn’t otherwise be able to through your own networks.