Tonight I had a Tinder date at a local cafe. Tinder is the dating app where users see one or more photos, first name, age, sometimes a short description, plus any common Facebook connections or interests. And then we either swipe left if we don’t want to connect, or right if we do.
L. and I had both swiped right and then chatted through the app. We had some mutual friends and when we met it turned out our offspring may have been at camp together. L. is a very nice person and we talked easily, but there was no spark. Ironically, a few tables away was a woman, chatting with friends, to whom I’ve been attracted for years, but I’ve never registered on her radar.
I wished L. all the best in meeting a wonderful partner. In any case, she may bring a friend to Chanting & Chocolate this Sunday evening.
It will be a special evening – 7:30 p.m. at Or Shalom Synagogue – because of our special guest, Rabbi Hanna Tiferet Siegel, our great band and my yummy triple-chocolate brownies, baked from scratch and served with tea after the chanting. Hanna Tiferet – a co-founder of Or Shalom – is a poet, mystic and singer-songwriter through whom song and inspiration flow. She weaves together prayerful melodies and inspired lyrics in a web of spirit and celebration.
But back to Tinder. I check it three or four times a week on my iPhone but there are seldom women close to my age. When I researched Tinder on Wikipedia today, I found the chart you see above. L. is 55, part of the 55-64 group that registers only one percent of the estimated 14 million users in 196 countries. My age group is right off the chart.
I’m better off continuing to do the things I love and may meet someone there, and focusing on the dating sites that have been more fruitful. I met my last girlfriend on Match.com. I also use Plenty of Fish, OKCupid and JDate, the site for Jewish singles for which I will let my subscription lapse in four days – just not enough new people joining. I also must admit to checking the personals on Craigslist, which is similar to Tinder in that there are few women close to my age. Quite honestly I’m not looking for a much younger woman.
Some years ago on CBC Radio I heard a story on dating later in life. A Halifax bartender interviewed said it was a double whammy – you get less attractive and more picky.
I agree, jDate is the land of the zombies. Barely any of the profiles are active. It may be ok in NYC, or somewhere else with a large Jewish population, but not in Seattle (or, apparently, Vancouver).