My Official Retirement From Online Dating

For nearly six years I have immersed myself in the world of online dating, in the hopes of meeting a great guy and getting my happily ever after, as cheesy as it sounds. I started with excitement, enthusiasm and optimism. I made a shit ton of bad decisions, mistakes, and went out with really good looking guys who were stupid or lame or didn't have much to offer. I was having fun with the process and was addicted to the endless supply of men and the endless possibilities. Sadly, many years later, I am no longer having any fun, so I know it is time to "retire" from online dating, permanently.

I started writing about my experiences so that perhaps other women wouldn't feel so bad about their difficulty navigating the dating world and wouldn't feel so alone. Dating, when all of your friends are married or in serious long term relationships, is a lonely experience because they can't relate to you. They ask about your dating life, expecting to hear fun, sexy, adventurous stories- and maybe some of you have them. I've had a few, I'll admit. But for the most part, it's an unpleasant, painful, disappointing and disheartening experience- and your friends can't relate to you because they aren't in the battlefield any more and they most likely found their person before Tinder was invented.

Dating isn't dating anymore; dating now is swiping, texting, hooking up, being non-committal and flaky, ghosting... I could go on but you get the point. There is no more courtship or investment, there is no more getting to know someone on a deeper level, there is no more alignment on values or dreams for the future. God forbid you should ask your date if they want to get married or have kids in the future! That's just way too much pressure....

The disintegration of dating and of common courtesy when it comes to these matters is, in my opinion, due to the creation of online dating; primarily these swiping apps. Dating was still pretty fun when Match.com was first created, because people on that site were serious and it wasn't all about hooking up with someone instantaneously. You took the time to get to know someone before you met in person, because back then online dating was taboo and there was a real risk that the person you were about to meet could be a serial killer. Now we have shitty apps like Tinder, Bumble and Hinge where you just care about matching with as many people as possible and don't ever bother to establish contact with them. It's all just an ego boost.

I've taken breaks from online dating throughout the last six years, but I always went back to it because of that fear of "what if." What if I try one more time, maybe it'll be different. What if I am more discerning about who I swipe right on? There's always that fear of "if I don't try it'll never happen." Reality check, I tried. I fucking tried harder than any single woman I know and it STILL didn't happen.

I was afraid for a long time that if I didn't do online dating and didn't put myself out there that I was going to end up a sad, single spinster. I've realized though, that my life as a single woman is way more fun than when I am dating any of these jerks. I've traveled the world, I have a ton of hobbies, I have a great career, wonderful friends, an amazing family and a beautiful nephew that fills my heart with more love than any man could give me. My life is full, and if I eventually meet a guy who meets my standards and can contribute meaningfully to my awesome life, then great. If that doesn't happen I honestly don't care anymore, because I create the life I want. I want a family of my own and I will have it, with or without that husband I dreamed of.

For those of you who still want to stick it out and give online dating a chance, I say good luck to you. Just don't do it because you're afraid of ending up alone, that's never a good reason to do anything. And don't lower your standard for someone who will never be able to meet yours.

Good luck and God speed!

xoxo

My Final Tinder Nightmare

After so many years of dating I know better than to use Tinder. It's like going to the dump and expecting to find hidden treasure. I have gone out with my last two Tinder matches, which have led me to the path of retiring from online dating altogether. 

One guy I went out is your typical man-child, who is still in the process of getting his life together to become an actual adult but is actually afraid of growing up and adulting. He's the guy who hits you up with those late night "WYD" (what are you doing) texts at 2am or asks you to hang out super last minute or late at night. Guys like him aren't even fun. I went out with the first time only because he caught me on an evening where I didn't already have plans and I figured "what the hell." He was nice enough, but there wasn't anything interesting about him at all. He doesn't have a career, in fact I am not sure what the fuck he does (he is finishing college at least, but c'mon that should've happened a decade ago). He hasn't traveled. He hasn't done shit with his life, as far as I can tell. He seems like the kind of guy who just wants to party, and stay up late with buddies and play beer pong and take shots. That was fun maybe like 12 years ago, certainly not now. And I will never, under any circumstances, reply to a "WYD" text at 2am, except for the next morning when I ask "why the fuck do you text me in the middle of the night asking me what I'm doing- I'm fucking sleeping." If a man wants to date me, he needs to ask me in advance and plan what we are doing. None of this last minute bullshit is acceptable to me. 

The very last guy I have met on Tinder, and will ever meet on any dating platform whatsoever so help me God, is the reason why I am quitting online dating. He went from super sweet nice guy, to blackout drunk, obnoxious, aggressive asshole in the course of 1 date. Crazy right?? Long story short, we had lunch and saw a movie, both activities were great and I liked his company very much. Later that night I made the mistake of going to this bar with him because he wanted to see his friend and asked me to come. My gut told me "DON'T GO" but I went anyway. It was bad news from the start. He didn't have his fucking wallet, no ID, no card, no money and I had to pay for cover charge. I should've said "fuck this" and walked away. I went in and I go get myself a drink but felt obligated to get him one too. He drank whiskey, I had beer. Apparently whiskey fucks this guy up, and after a few whiskeys and beers THAT I BOUGHT he became the most obnoxious guy I had ever seen, right before my eyes. It was like Bruce Banner changing into The Hulk. His friends were super lame, they were trying to get with these nasty girls who looked like total trash, and the guy I was with was just a big fucking obnoxious jerk- and doesn't remember any of it. Girls at this club, skanky looking girls, were asking ME if I was ok because they saw I was with this guy and saw how obnoxious he was. Apparently he was blackout drunk and didn't remember anything that happened, and I had to tell him what an asshole he was to me. I am grateful I was exposed to this side of him so quickly because it helped me avoid wasting any time on him, and saved me from dating a guy who gets aggressive when blackout drunk. I was not about to become a battered girlfriend and I was not about to get back on to Tinder or any other shitty dating app to find a new asshole to date.