It’s a Match

Dating apps help millennials make new friends in town

 

BY ALEX JONES

 

583: That’s how many matches 28-year-old Cory Johnson has made on the popular online dating app Tinder in the past year. As he walks into Starbucks and perches himself confidently upon a stool, it’s obvious that this isn’t the first time he’s met a stranger for coffee. “Out of the five girls I’ve met,” Johnson says, “I’ve made two friends from it so far.”

      His approach to dating is similar to that of many millennials who move to Charleston. Swiping a person’s picture on apps like Tinder, OkCupid and Coffee Meets Bagel, after all, is an easier way to make friends or find that special someone than by meeting people in a bar.

      Charleston has earned such honors as “Best Post-College Town” by USA Today and “Friendliest City in the U.S.” by Condé Nast Traveler, but a common problem among 20- and 30-somethings is figuring out how to infiltrate the local dating scene without knowing anyone. One strategy employed by many newcomers is to hide behind the safety of an online avatar.

     Haynes Brown, a 29-year-old who recently moved from Columbia, S.C., uses Tinder to meet friends and date women. He says he finds it easier to make friends online than approaching people in bars. “I try to keep an open mind about it,” he says. “A lot of my friends back home use it to hook up, but I’m not into that.” So far, Brown has met seven people using the app, some of whom have become good friends.

     Patrick Sanders, a 20-year-old, downloaded Tinder after moving from Rhode Island. “I didn’t know a single soul down here,” he says. “I had just ended things with my long-distance girlfriend from high school.” After arriving in Charleston, he landed a job and was working 40 to 60 hours a week. The usual dating scene was not working for him. “I’ve come to realize that I’m terrible at being single,” he remarked. “I have zero game.” Without the help of a wingman, Sanders found himself helplessly navigating the bar scene of King Street, an outsider looking in.

     Johnson found Tinder particularly useful when he spent three years teaching English in Taiwan. He not only used the apps to meet new friends but to find places to visit. “People in Beijing and Shanghai use it to communicate,” he explains.

     First launched at the University of Southern California a few years ago, Tinder has made its way around the world, and now it’s helping newcomers make friends in the Holy City.