Tinder is a lot of things, but a successful dating app? Debatable.

We all know the stories, or the struggles, of matching with someone and engaging in flirtatious small talk – that dissipates before our very eyes. The tales of that blurry hook-up followed by navigating the open sea of social politics. Frustrations that come from being ‘ghosted’.

Alas, the tides appear to be turning for our right swiping friends, the hook-up app is transforming into an L-O-V-E love finder.

It won’t happen overnight as serial dating app user Nick tells us, but with a little blind luck and one or two smooth moves, you might just find the one.

“My first ever Tinder date, I was spoiled.  She was smart, spoke fluent German and lived within a kilometre of me. After 3 dates she disappeared. I mass texted a group in my phone nine months later with a meme and she laughed. We still message on occasion, nothing romantic or anything, we’ve both moved on, but she certainly set the standard high.”

Nick admits he’s been out with a fair number of girls.

“Tinder has led to some good relationships with long-term potential, some cut short by the girl going back home or finding out she smokes. Others it’s a more hook up thing, though I always aim for the long term.”

For others like Fiona*, she met her darling Shrek* on her very first Tinder experience and was swept into the most unlikely of fairy tales. Intent on deleting the app the same day she downloaded it, Fiona only found herself swiping right to fight boredom on a scorching Melbourne day.

“It was just luck that I found someone who I thought connected with me through our conversation, since we have plenty of shared interests,” she explains.

Fiona also admits that having mutual friends helped in the development of the relationship. With friends confirming his very genuine existence, she was sure he wasn’t a “murderer”.  And even with Tinder’s rather comedic reputation, she isn’t embarrassed to share how she met her partner.

To Fiona, Tinder is what you want it to be. “For some it’s considered a dating app while for others it’s a hook-up app.”

John* liked the flexibility of Tinder. As someone who enjoys talking to a wide variety of people, Tinder was the perfect platform for exposure and interaction. Most importantly, it allowed John the ability to talk to a match at any time of day. His partner Jane* was quite new to it all. After meeting up with a friend for coffee, she decided to suss out her friend’s Tinder account.

“I found it fun swiping and matching her up with dudes. Then I was curious to see how I would go”.

After matching with John, Jane felt flattered but never thought she would be dating someone from Tinder. John who had previously been on and off Tinder for a year knew better than to assume a relationship would form out of a match. Jane also didn’t want to get her hopes up. So with just an inquiry about his job, Jane was surprised to find chemistry between the two.

“We ended up talking for ages, because we had flow,” she says.

While Jane feels a little embarrassed to share the origins of their relationship to others, John’s self-consciousness was short-lived.

“I would agree Tinder is growing a reputation as more of a dating application over a hook-up application. I have friends who have also used Tinder and all of them have used it for the prospect of getting into a long-term relationship.”

With his friends following in his path, John isn’t affected in the slightest by the novelty of successful Tinder relationships anymore.

*Name has been changed for privacy reasons.

Written by Steffanie Tan

Twitter – @steffwith2effs
IG – @steffwith2effs

Art by Angharad Neal-Williams

IG – @artby.angharad