Our generation can’t put our phones down.

This trend is only getting worse with the rise of dating apps like Tinder and the recently launched matchmaking app, Mingleton. Coined as “Tinder for bars and parties,” Mingleton uses the phone’s network to connect you with people within 50 meters of you. There’s a fine line between social and creepy and I think we’re getting close to crossing it.

Creators Obi Ekikezie and Joel Ayala want people to use the hookup tracker in the exact opposite way someone would use Tinder. Essentially, you would scope out someone you find attractive at a bar or social setting, then check out their profile to see if you two would hit it off before you waste your time or money buying them a drink.

Mingleton’s website said this approach is used to eliminate the common disappointment of someone looking a lot better in their profile pictures than they do in real life.

It sounds good in theory, but there are many things I find wrong with this strategy. The biggest problem is that you should absolutely not be sifting through your Mingleton or Tinder matches when there are possible partners all around you.

This app is supposed to be the wingman for the shy kid but in truth, it doesn’t help him or her at all. Not to sound like Hitch, but people like confidence. Someone who’s constantly on their phone with a room full of people to talk to doesn’t exactly scream socialite. If you go rattle off someone’s online interests as a conversation starter, I don’t think that conversation is going very far.

My fear is that people will start to become dependent on these matchmaking apps when they could easily be doing the same thing without them. The time spent reading through that hot chick’s hobbies could be better spent, I don’t know, maybe asking her about her hobbies. In the end, you still have to have the guts to walk up and initiate the conversation, so I don’t really see the point.

That girl or guy may have had their eye on you all night; you don’t need a dating app to confirm it. Trial and error is how you get better at talking to the opposite sex. If you get denied nine times, that 10th time could end up being the love of your life or just the hookup you wanted.

Even if I don’t agree with it, I understand Tinder’s concept. It’s a method to find someone in the virtual world and try to link up with him or her in person. Mingleton’s concept of seeing someone in real life and then finding them online seems backwards. You basically have your potential matches right in front of you — you’re just too afraid to make the first move. Thankfully the app doesn’t include a chat feature to avoid any further awkwardness.

People these days enjoy being social but only to an extent. When you use location-based services, online personas quickly become real and that’s when people freak out. Hiding behind a screen is something our generation is becoming too comfortable with and it’s a trend that needs to be broken.

Mingleton is a creative idea, but I just don’t see real-time dating apps taking off anytime soon. Some people may actually find these apps effective for finding dates in the area. Most just use it for entertainment.

My advice? Put the phone down and say “hello.”

Aarick Knighton is a sophomore information management and technology major. His column appears weekly. He can be reached at adknight@syr.edu

 

Published on April 16, 2014 at 1:03 am