What Is Tinder? Is Tinder Better For Dating Or Hookups?

tinder homepage screenshot
  • DatingRing
  • Feb 9, 2023

If you were looking for a crazy popular dating app that will help you step up your dating game and meet hundreds of women at once, then you have decided to create a Tinder profile.

However, most people are not really sure whether this is the right dating platform for them and whether it is better for dating or hookups.

In case you are one of them, then you will definitely be able to find out the answer to this question in our article.

What Is Tinder?

Tinder is one of the first dating apps for hookup that appeared on the market years ago, and it was able to gather over 80 million users across the world. Bumble, Hinge, and CoffeeMeetsBagel also are good apps.

Even though it didn’t really have competition when it appeared and it was made for all types of dating, it seems like the situation has changed during the past few years.

Nowadays, there is a clear target audience on Tinder, and some users that have been around here for years don’t seem to be too satisfied with it.

tinder features

However, these days you will hear many people complaining about how they are not really able to find the right match for themselves on this app and how Tinder has only created them dating problems.

Things like this tend to happen on all dating apps, but since Tinder is the most popular one, I believe it creates the most noise.

Their target audience is relatively young, and people of this age are usually not interested in profound arrangements, so people who are joining the app these days in order to find their soulmate typically don’t have too much luck with it.

The most significant number of Tinder users is the younger audience, aged somewhere between 18 and 30 years that is here just to find a short-term hookup or someone to spend the night with.

Since the platform has started expanding and attracting millions of people worldwide, people were joining it but didn’t really know what to expect, so they used to come off of the app quite disappointed.

You can’t really expect to get into any severe arrangements when the primary user base is this young, which is overall the most significant problem on Tinder.

This is a dating app aimed at a younger audience that is here for some fun and casual hookup or two, not a long-term relationship or marriage.

Even though you may come across older people who are actively using Tinder, they are also the ones who are here for some fun, so I wouldn’t recommend anyone to get their hopes up way too high.

If you don’t belong to this user base, you will probably feel a bit left out, and I believe there are far better options for you like Hinge or Bumble, which are a bit more serious and organized.

Is Tinder Better For Hookup Or Dating?

Even though a good number of younger people are able to find a boyfriend or girlfriend on Tinder, this is really not the primary goal of people joining it.

You may have some luck if you dig deep enough, but in general, you will see that most people are only here for a one-night stand, and the moment you ask them if they are interested in something more significant, they will back off.

For that reason, I believe Tinder is a good place only for those of you who want a casual hookup and nothing more because that is what they will definitely be able to find.

swipte night

However, if you get Tinder premium, gain access to premium features and filters that will help you control and navigate the whole search process, you may find a boyfriend or a girlfriend too.

The critical thing with Tinder is that as long as you have a free dating profile, you will only be able to see people around you, and you won’t have access to any of the filters that can make your search for the perfect person a lot easier.

Once you purchase Tinder Premium or Tinder Gold, you will basically create the whole dating experience for yourself, control all the people who pop out on your homepage and have the last word in who gets to reach out to you and who doesn’t.

I believe that this is a great way to use Tinder and indeed an investment that will make Tinder a place for some serious things, too, not just casual flings.

In case you don’t really have the funds to spend on any of these memberships, but you really want to find a dating app that will help you meet the right person, you can always use free apps like Hinge or Bumble that are made for serious dating.

What is Tinder App Used for

tinder plus

Tinder is the hookup dating app with the most significant number of active users, but since it first appeared, dozen different apps have appeared on the market, and it seems like all of them have improved and become even better and more popular than Tinder.

While I do believe Tinder is still quite a good dating app and that you will be able to find some great matches on there, I am pretty sure that it is decreasing in popularity, especially among the younger audience that is interested in a more profound way of getting to know someone.

Tinder will definitely stay the IT place for casual dating in the future too, but I believe that all of you guys that are looking for something bigger will move onto other dating apps.

This doesn’t mean that Tinder is bad at all, but that it has managed to gather its loyal audience interested in this sort of casual dating and is completely fine with the app's concept.

You are the one that knows your needs the best, so if you know what is the type of relationship or arrangement you are seeking, you will definitely be able to make the right choice for yourself.