Baumgarten: Love machine in my pocket

Don’t you just love getting new toys? Something new to play with and to help you get into trouble? Maybe something to make your dating life a little more interesting? Last week I upgrade from an iPhone 4s to an iPhone 5s. It may seem like the only difference is a number, but I can assure you it was a needed improvement. I couldn’t take photos with my old phone, which for a photographer is like being stabbed when you don’t have your DSLR on hand. In fact, the woman who took my phone was surprised it still worked. It’s amazing what a phone can do these days. Remember when all you could do was call and text, when they didn’t even have cameras? Heck, did you have a phone that you carried around in a bag and your dad made you slam a magnetic antenna onto the roof of your vehicle?
The first phone I had, a flip phone, could send texts, make calls and take “photos.” I say that in quotation marks because the photos sucked. Now, my photos are no longer pixelated or grainy. I can do just about anything with my phone, though it rarely includes making a call. Actually, the coolest feature is my phone case, which not only protects my phone but also has a secret compartment. Does that make me a secret agent? You decide. But this article isn’t about that. It’s about finding true love. Have you heard of Tinder? It is a matchmaking app for phones. It uses social media information to find possible matches near you. Because I used my old phone as a music library, I didn’t have enough space to download the app. When I got my new phone, my friends were ecstatic - almost more excited than I was - to download this “love machine.” It almost made me nervous how big their eyes and smiles got. But maybe they were onto something with this right-swiping form of entertainment, so I downloaded it. And so my index finger, and those of my friends, started to fly. Right swipe. Left swipe. Left swipe-right swipe. Right swipe! RIGHT SWIPE! Photo after hilarious photo, my friends and I couldn’t get enough. Some I even commented on, like the guy that was riding a pump jack. Nothing says sexy like a guy riding on a wave of oil. Messages also came flying into my message box. Some were nice and even sweet. Some made my face redder than the shirt I was wearing. A few made me contemplate going on a date. And only one made me want to throw my phone at the wall. I’m not going to lie; sweeping through all of those photos made me feel like a superficial teenager looking for the handsome quarterback, though I did try to keep an open mind. I’m sure my readers are thinking it could be a dangerous game, or that an app could never help me find true love. I don’t think it was ever my intention to find the man of my life with an overpriced piece of technology. I know, like most people that has used Tinder, it is purely for entertainment purposes. But then again, I’ve met lifelong friends through stranger ways. It seems safer than going to a bar and waiting for a guy to randomly grab my rear end without permission - I’m not talking about my own safety either - or some drunk stranger asking if I want to see what he has to offer. And it’s definitely better than having a stalker follow me home. I would never condone doing anything that makes my readers feel unsafe. They have to make their own decisions, just like I have to make my own. Tinder isn’t a love app; I know that. But I do love using it, even if it is purely for entertainment. It has reminded me that my dating life, as small as it is, is still alive. I guess anything could happen. And if not, I can always use a good laugh. I’ll just keep it in my pocket for a rainy day. Then again, maybe I better go pull out that flip phone and see if it works before my finger flies off. Baumgarten is the news editor of The Dickinson Press. Email her at abaumgarten@thedickinsonpress.com. Like her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/april.baumgarten. Follow her at twitter.com/aprilbaumsaway.Don’t you just love getting new toys? Something new to play with and to help you get into trouble? Maybe something to make your dating life a little more interesting?Last week I upgrade from an iPhone 4s to an iPhone 5s. It may seem like the only difference is a number, but I can assure you it was a needed improvement. I couldn’t take photos with my old phone, which for a photographer is like being stabbed when you don’t have your DSLR on hand. In fact, the woman who took my phone was surprised it still worked.It’s amazing what a phone can do these days. Remember when all you could do was call and text, when they didn’t even have cameras? Heck, did you have a phone that you carried around in a bag and your dad made you slam a magnetic antenna onto the roof of your vehicle?
The first phone I had, a flip phone, could send texts, make calls and take “photos.” I say that in quotation marks because the photos sucked. Now, my photos are no longer pixelated or grainy. I can do just about anything with my phone, though it rarely includes making a call.Actually, the coolest feature is my phone case, which not only protects my phone but also has a secret compartment. Does that make me a secret agent? You decide.But this article isn’t about that. It’s about finding true love.Have you heard of Tinder? It is a matchmaking app for phones. It uses social media information to find possible matches near you.Because I used my old phone as a music library, I didn’t have enough space to download the app. When I got my new phone, my friends were ecstatic - almost more excited than I was - to download this “love machine.” It almost made me nervous how big their eyes and smiles got.But maybe they were onto something with this right-swiping form of entertainment, so I downloaded it.And so my index finger, and those of my friends, started to fly. Right swipe. Left swipe. Left swipe-right swipe. Right swipe! RIGHT SWIPE!Photo after hilarious photo, my friends and I couldn’t get enough. Some I even commented on, like the guy that was riding a pump jack. Nothing says sexy like a guy riding on a wave of oil.Messages also came flying into my message box. Some were nice and even sweet. Some made my face redder than the shirt I was wearing. A few made me contemplate going on a date. And only one made me want to throw my phone at the wall.I’m not going to lie; sweeping through all of those photos made me feel like a superficial teenager looking for the handsome quarterback, though I did try to keep an open mind. I’m sure my readers are thinking it could be a dangerous game, or that an app could never help me find true love.I don’t think it was ever my intention to find the man of my life with an overpriced piece of technology. I know, like most people that has used Tinder, it is purely for entertainment purposes.But then again, I’ve met lifelong friends through stranger ways. It seems safer than going to a bar and waiting for a guy to randomly grab my rear end without permission - I’m not talking about my own safety either - or some drunk stranger asking if I want to see what he has to offer. And it’s definitely better than having a stalker follow me home. I would never condone doing anything that makes my readers feel unsafe. They have to make their own decisions, just like I have to make my own.Tinder isn’t a love app; I know that. But I do love using it, even if it is purely for entertainment. It has reminded me that my dating life, as small as it is, is still alive. I guess anything could happen. And if not, I can always use a good laugh. I’ll just keep it in my pocket for a rainy day.Then again, maybe I better go pull out that flip phone and see if it works before my finger flies off.Baumgarten is the news editor of The Dickinson Press. Email her at abaumgarten@thedickinsonpress.com. Like her on Facebook at www.facebook.com/april.baumgarten. Follow her at twitter.com/aprilbaumsaway.