© Colonne / @chogiseok

Like many women in this world, I once thought that maybe one of my biggest love stories would be found by scrolling mindlessly through a dating app. With a glass of wine in one hand and hope slowly evaporating from the other, I had a thought: Are dating apps the modern-day version of true romance, or are we all just stuck in a never-ending cycle of swiping for love like it’s some sort of game show? And if we are, does that mean we’ve replaced meet-cutes with meet-boops? (You know, that little sound when you match with someone?)

It’s a question I’ve asked myself more times than I care to admit, usually after a particularly bad date that started with a right swipe and ended with me blocking his number. There’s something bizarre about the whole process. You scroll through endless profiles, judging someone’s entire romantic potential based on a few curated photos and whether or not they have a decent bio. “Love hiking and brunch!” Swipe left. “Looking for someone who doesn’t take life too seriously.” Swipe right. And just like that, you’re playing roulette with your love life.

Swipe Right for Love?

But is this how we’re finding “the one” now? Has the magic of romance been reduced to an algorithm, some clever coding designed to help us find the perfect match? Gone are the days of locking eyes across a crowded room, the butterflies in your stomach when someone asks you out for the first time. Now it’s all, “What’s your favorite Netflix show?” and “Should we meet for drinks or coffee?” Sure, it’s convenient. Dating apps let you cast a wide net—people you’d never meet in real life are suddenly at your fingertips. You can be sitting in your pajamas, eating leftover pizza, and still technically be “dating.” But the question remains: Are we finding love, or are we just playing a numbers game, hoping that one of these swipes turns into something real?

Love in the Age of Algorithms

Let’s be real: dating apps are designed to keep us hooked. You get a match, and it feels like you’ve won a mini lottery. There’s that brief dopamine rush, the little “maybe this is it” feeling. But more often than not, that match fizzles out after a few uninspired messages (how many times can you answer “So what do you do for fun?” without losing your mind?), and you’re back to swiping, as if love is a limited-time offer and you’ve got to get it before the sale ends. And what about all the choices? We’re suddenly dating in a world of endless options. It’s like walking into a massive department store where every rack is full of potential partners, all slightly different but essentially the same. You pick one, but before you even try it on, you wonder if there’s something better in the next aisle. This mentality—this constant quest for something better—has turned dating into a perpetual shopping spree. And here’s the kicker: when there are endless options, sometimes you don’t choose at all. You just keep swiping, endlessly, waiting for perfection to pop up. Spoiler alert: it won’t.

The Swipe Fatigue

After a while, dating apps start to feel less like a fun way to meet new people and more like a chore. You get swipe fatigue, where the idea of opening that app feels like you’re clocking into work. You go on so many first dates that they all blend into one generic blur of awkward conversation and mediocre cocktails. Was it Jason who worked in finance, or was that Ryan? Did Matt say he loved dogs, or was that Chris? Eventually, you start to wonder if this is really how love is supposed to happen. Can true romance exist in a world where people have become so disposable? Where it’s easier to ghost someone than to have an uncomfortable conversation? Where the chase has been replaced with the tap of a finger?

So, Is It Worth the Swipe?

And yet… there are success stories. I’ve heard of couples who met on an app, fell in love, and are now happily living their “happily ever after.” Maybe they’re the exception to the rule, or maybe, just maybe, romance is evolving. Maybe love can still exist in the digital age, even if it doesn’t look like it did in the movies. After all, aren’t we all just looking for that spark? Whether it happens over a candlelit dinner or through the glow of a screen, it’s still that same old feeling—the one that makes your heart race and your palms sweat. The one that makes you believe, just for a moment, that maybe, this time, you’ve found something real.

So, are dating apps the new true romance? Or are they just another swipe? Maybe it’s a little of both. In a world where love is often just a screen tap away, maybe we have to accept that the fairytale has changed. We may not be locking eyes across a crowded room, but maybe—just maybe—a right swipe could be the beginning of something real. Because no matter how you meet, when it comes to love, the ending is still the same: you’re either all in, or you’re back to swiping.

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