Are Mobile Dating Apps Just for Hookups?

Since our mobile phones have become the accessory du jour, it’s no surprise online daters are spending more time connecting on their mobile phones, instead of leisurely browsing through eligible singles on their desktops.

Mobile dating is a booming industry, and it isn’t slowing down in terms of size and popularity in the market.

Aside from the household names of dating sites turned mobile apps, including Match, eharmony and Zoosk, several new mobile-only apps have hit the scene and are hanging their digital hats on the phones of celebrities and everyday people.

Two of my favorite new apps gaining popularity are Tinder and Let’s Date. Both mobile apps cater to singles in their 20s and are popular on college campuses.

Let’s take a look at both of them.

1. Tinder.

Tinder is a geo-location mobile dating app, which feels like an addictive mobile game in the style of speed dating.

When you open the app, baseball card-style photos of singles in your vicinity will pop up, and you can either click on the green heart to “like” the profile and connect or click the red X to delete their profile and move on to the next profile.

If you aren’t in the quick shopping cart mentality, clicking on the “I” button will let you view a match’s profile to see exactly how many miles away you are from them and to find out more about the person behind the photo.

Signing up is easy and they use your Facebook data to see if you have any shared friends in common before you decide whether to send someone to Internet Heaven or add them to your date card.

If it’s a mutual match, you can start the digital conversation through texting. Don’t worry, your dating diary won’t appear on your Facebook page.

“Mobile dating can speed up your search

to find your perfect sweetheart.”

2. Let’s Date.

Let’s Date is a fun mobile dating app and game, which decides which singles you might like.

They send notifications as well as emails to let you know when people tap “Let’s Date” on your date card. You then slide to see which of the five possible dates have selected you, and you can click on “Let’s Date” or “No, thanks” and move on to the next fresh face.

3. Are people finding love or just hooking up?

Mobile apps are known for dating on-the-fly behavior and people make snap judgments based upon looks and proximity.

If your favorite dating site has a mobile app, it’s a great way to connect with someone you might have a digital crush on or have been communicating with already, or you can just expand your social circle and find new friends.

There’s really no pressure with mobile dating, but it can certainly speed up your search to find your perfect sweetheart.

On June 6, 2013, I hosted the Mobile Dating Focus Group at the iDate/Mobile Dating Conference in Beverly Hills, where eight singles will be trying to find love from the convenience of their mobile phones.

You can track the daters’ progress at MobileDatingBootCamp.com and we’ll be announcing the list of mobile dating apps shortly.

Are you using mobile dating apps? Do you think they’re just for hookups and casual sex?

Hopefully, our guide “Are Mobile Dating Apps Just for Hookups?” and our recommendation of Match will help fulfill your dating needs.

Remember that sites like Match can have their pros and cons. With 39.7 Million users per month and an expert rating of 4.9/5.0, Match has many features to like:

• A large, diverse, and global user base active in 50 countries.
• Receive daily personalized match suggestions based on your match preferences.
• Multiple search tools empower singles to find dates on their own.
• A lot of ways to show interest and communicate for free.
• Match has collected more success stories and facilitated more first dates than any other dating site in existence.
• Members can attend local Match Events if they feel burnt out on online dating.
• The Match Customer Care team is available by email and live chat Monday through Friday.

But that’s not the whole story on Match. Among its drawbacks:

• Only paid subscribers can send unlimited messages or see who has liked their profiles.
• Can be time-consuming to search through all the choices, features, and matches.
• You can’t choose who is in your Top Picks list, so free members have no control over who they can message and who they can’t.
• Privacy mode (incognito browsing) is only available to paid subscribers.

For further research, be sure to check out our full review of Match, where we break down its 4.9 rating, its usability, and what its 39.7 Million monthly users get from their Match profiles. Or check out these Match alternatives if you’d like to consider similar options we recommend.