5 Magic Features We Wish Dating Apps Would Have
I dreamt up that would really take the dating app experience to the next level.
Dating apps have totally transformed the way we meet people. Over drinks last week, a group of friends agreed they would much rather meet a guy on a dating app versus in a bar. It’s faster, it’s less creepy, and there’s more information available. Dating apps give us enough basic information about a person to start forming positive (or negative) judgments. It’s nothing we couldn’t have found on Google, but it’s just a lot easier to have it delivered up in one place.
Although they’ve totally changed the way we connect to one another, I think dating apps could up their game even more . . . give the experience a bit more sparkle. After all, we visit these apps every day, trust them to help us romantically, and pump them full of our private information. Shouldn’t they be optimized for our enjoyment and success? So listen up, the lot of you! Here are some imaginary features I dreamt up that would really take the dating app experience to the next level. (I expect to see them all in the next app update . . . )
1. First date suggestions
One might think dating apps make life more simple, but in reality, they’re a lot of freaking work. Between the constant pressure to come up with perfect responses and the finger cramps you get from swiping, the last thing users want to do is actually come up with a magical date idea.
Maybe if apps offered first date suggestions, like “Classic Date: Dinner and Movie” or “Spontaneous Date: Arcade and Karaoke,” we would feel less pressure. Plus, if the date suggestion is super lame at least you’ll have something to talk about.
2. Fact Checker and Lie Detector
It’s human nature to want to put your best foot forward on a dating app, but sometimes people take it too far. They flat out lie — from over-edited pictures, to hobbies, to jobs, and, the most common one, height! PSA: if you put that you are 6’2″, we will notice when you turn out to be 5’6″. This feature would scan a person’s profile for lies and highlight them. For example, if a person put “I love running” on their profile, this feature would highlight it in red and translate it to reality, read: “I went running one time.”
3. The option to see if people have been blocked by others
Why should you have to waste your time going through the painful steps of trying to get to know a stranger only to find out that they’re block-worthy? If dating apps alerted you straight up when a person has already been blocked (especially by more than one person), well then that just saves you a step
4. Reminders to take a break and enjoy real life
Are you still swiping? If so, that means you’ve officially been using this app for two hours and should probably take a break and immediately and go socialize with some humans in person.
5. A song lyrics keyboard
Emoji and GIFs are great, but sometimes you just need to express yourself with song lyrics. The ideal dating app would feature a nifty song lyrics keyboard with a library of lyrics from all your favorite artists.
Just type in the name of an artist and their most famous lyrics will show up on your screen easily ready to copy and paste. Next time you need to bust out some Beyoncé, think of all the typing and web browsing you’ll save.
