A new dating app is going to be available for iOS users who attend four-year universities. Tinder is expanding its brand by creating another app, TinderU. TinderU allows students to connect with other students at their school and other nearby schools. To sign up, they must log in with their school’s email address, verify it and swipe away.
“I would use it [TinderU] just to communicate with people, get to know more people. It’s a way of networking,” Cabrini student Jaeden Dungee said.
Originally, Tinder was downloaded for romantic use. It’s speed-dating at the user’s fingertips, however it may be used as a resourceful means for networking. Even though Cabrini’s campus is quite small, networking in any sense for most students can be a bit difficult.
Using Tinder to communicate with other students on any campus seems like a great way to get people socializing without the pressure of having face-to-face conversation. The app may be a positive tool or vice versa.
In 2018, everything’s gone digital. Full blown face-to-face conversations will rarely happen between strangers if people are too busy swiping and liking on their phones all day. The progression and innovation of social media has made it both easier and harder to communicate with people.
It’s easier because people are able to share ideas and express interest in things and each other in something as simple as 140 characters. However, it’s harder because people are so in tune with social media, which results in use of verbal communication happening less than it should.
Another student, Mark Martin describes the app as “scary” as he doesn’t trust dating apps.
“It’s good for people who are single because it is quick access to new people,” Martin said.
On a bigger campus like Pennsylvania State University or Florida International University where there’s a large student body, TinderU is more likely to be utilized. Although Cabrini’s student body is quite small compared to other university populations, Cabrini still has even smaller subgroups of people on its campus.
“It’s very convenient for people that are not comfortable with their sexuality and don’t want to talk about it. You can communicate it to them through there [the app] instead of approaching someone in person not knowing what their sexuality is,” sophomore psychology major Tasia Ridley-Elkins said.
No one knows if Cabrini will become a hot spot for TinderU dating, but the extension of the app has already rolled out and users are getting connected on their campuses.
