Online dating is no longer just a thing people do before going on a first date with a stranger, or even a person they’ve known for a while. In many ways, it’s become a whole new thing — one that’s rooted in the realities of millennial life and a sort of desperate need for connection in a messy world.

 

We’re connecting more than ever, but loneliness is on the rise. In fact, a recent report shows that more and more of us are turning to dating apps to look for a partner. And while an increase in casual sex is nothing to shake a stick at, and it’s in everyone’s best interest to seek out intimate connections, the paradox of an “easy” hookup culture is the potential for an exploitation of human weakness and mental health.

Little did I know that the app I was opening to waste away time on, through, and after class with my friends, was actually just one of many in the modern dating scene.

 

Dating apps like Bumble, Happn, Raya, Badoo, and Christian Mingle are simply different from the Match or eHarmony of years past, but they all provide a similar (if sometimes confusing) experience: Collect women who are nearby to meet you in an in-app marketplace, and make the first move when you find one you’re interested in.