Dating apps; one of the most popular uses of “social media” to get to know someone or go on a date with someone. But are they really worth the trouble?

     Some of the most popular dating apps around college campuses are Tinder and Bumble. For both of these apps, it involves swiping who you like and dislike; swipe left to not like them, swipe right to like them. If you both swipe right on each other it’s a match. Once a match has been made the conversations can begin.

     On Tinder, either one can send a message first. The beauty of this app is that no one can send pictures off of their phones to each other; so, no hot selfies, no dog pictures and no unwanted nude pictures. Although, that doesn’t stop some people.

     From personal experiences, the conversations tend to go in one of two directions. One is the short and sweet one where you get a “Lemme get your Snapchat or phone number” or the ever famous “Wanna hook up?” These are the people that usually should be avoided, unless that’s what you’re looking for. But if you’re on the app to find someone to date, avoid these people.

     The other direction is that you have a nice conversation and you continue to talk. But then they could always end up ghosting you, which is when someone immediately stops talking to you for no reason at all. Or you could get the “So what are you on Tinder for?” Which is the nail in the coffin. Once you get this question, the conversation is more than likely to come to a close.

     They way Bumble works is a little different compared to Tinder. For this dating app, the girl has to be the one to make the first move, which is pretty great if you ask me because guys are always thought to be the one to make the first move, so giving the girl the chance helps build up some confidence.

      If you match, you have twenty-four hours to send your match a message. If you don’t send the message, the match goes away. Once you send a message, your match has another twenty-four hours to reply back to you. If they don’t reply, then the match will also disappear. Bumble also gives you a chance to set your settings to finding a friend, dating or hooking up, which helps clear out some of the messages you could possibly get from someone who just wants to hook up with you.

     A problem that could be found with Bumble is that even though girls have the chance to message first, not many actually do. Or once they do, the match doesn’t respond. The other problem is that you can send pictures off of your phone to the other person, so unless you’re careful, you could see something you really don’t want to see, if you know what I mean. There seems to be a lot more messages back on Tinder and on Bumble, but again, this is just coming from personal experiences.

     And this is where I tell you to avoid these dating apps. At least Tinder for the most part. I have not heard anyone say that they had good experiences with this app. Maybe a few dates here and there, but nothing serious. Or if there was a “serious” thing coming from this app, it ended extremely quickly.

     If you’re one of the people who have a long-term relationship from one of these apps, good for you! You’re one of the very few to get lucky with these apps. But honestly, dating apps suck. There are a lot of gross people on these apps. And when I say gross, I don’t mean unattractive. I mean their way of communicating or “hitting on” you through their online persona.

     There are a lot of creeps and weirdos out there, and honestly just because you get a lot of matches really doesn’t mean much. In the end, it won’t make you feel that much better about yourself. You would be better off putting your phone away and meeting people in public. If you want to continue using these apps, be aware of the people out there and try to not be one of the creeps sliding into a girl’s messages just to tell her that her ass looks nice. It’s creepy nine out of ten times, guys.

      Dating apps are notorious for not having “happy endings.” It’s like a game at times; see who can get the most matches. And even if you do have a lot, how many of them actually message you? And how many actually take you out on a date? I can bet you it’s a lot less than you think.

Sierra Edwards is a senior English major. She is a contributing writer for The Voice