Navigating dating apps on a highly populated campus

Swipes and matches have become a staple in modern dating, but in an university of over 50,000 students this can be difficult to navigate.

For some students, dating apps were exactly what they needed to figure out what they wanted from a large campus. While apps such as Tinder have ushered in an age of hookup culture, some students are trying to find genuine relationships.

Emma Stohler, a junior in speech language and hearing sciences, said that she is looking for a long term relationship, but has been struggling to find someone who wants something serious.

“Most of the time when I do actually meet somebody or I start talking to somebody, they ghost me,” Stohler said.

The addition of dating apps makes an already-large student body even bigger and creates more opportunities to meet new people.

“There's a pretty large pool of people," Stohler said. “So it's like, every day, there's just like, a new group of people to just kind of swipe through.”

People can find a potential partner on dating apps, though, the process of using dating apps can be very tiring if not used wisely, Felix Wu, a junior in computer engineering, said.

“If you just ignore the truth that you're just trying to, you know, just swipe around, I feel like a lot of the time you're looking for attention, or validation,” Wu said. “(Bumble) is an app that just really kind of drags you down.”

The purpose of dating apps varies for students.

While some are looking for relationships, others are looking for someone to spend time with casually. As graduation approaches, some students do not know where they will move for work and find it easier to not put a label on a relationship.

Aubrey Gatewood, a senior in computer engineering, will graduate in May and is taking a break from finding a serious relationship due to unknown post-graduation plans.

“There were times where I was looking for a more serious relationship. But at this point, I’m about to graduate and I don’t know where I’m gonna move (to)” Gatewood said. ”(I can move) back to California (or) I can move to Florida. So now I'm just looking for people to like, hang out with in the short term.”

Although dating apps are becoming more common, they are not everyone’s first choice.

“Dating apps aren’t my ideal way of meeting someone,” Stohler said. “But it is kind of my only option for now.”