‘Funny Tinder Screenshots’: 40 Times Tinder Matches Were Actually Funny

The ‘Funny Tinder Screenshots’ project draws people in not just with good content but also by consistently posting new images. So far, the Instagram page has just over 14k followers

During a previous in-depth interview with Bored Panda, dating expert Dan Bacon, the founder of The Modern Man, explained exactly why online dating is so different from traditional dating. What’s more, he told us how people can learn to avoid being catfished.

According to the dating expert, when trying to get a match on Tinder, it’s best to be playful and grab your potential matches’ attention without coming across as try-hard or desperate. It’s best not to overdo the things that help stand out because they might seem bizarre or not genuine.

He also noted that it’s best to get a feel for whether or not your match is a quality person by not relying just on texting back and forth. Sure, it’s fun, but you won’t catch all the potential red flags that way.

"Get to a phone call, or video call as quickly as possible, so you can actually get a feel for each other and see if you click. At the very least, send voice texts back and forth so you can determine each other’s level of interest, as well as personality type and temperament," Dan told Bored Panda that it’s worth it to put in the extra effort in communicating with your match to see if they’re actually right for you.

What’s more, the expert pointed out that when people are just texting, it can be easy for one person to misinterpret someone’s level of excitement and interest. That means that one person can end up getting hurt.

"A man might send a woman a text and she then replies with a laughing emoji, with tears of laughter. He thinks he's doing well, but in reality, she is rolling her eyes and thinking that his joke was lame. He might then continue using that type of humor and causing a disconnect between himself and her," he said that these sorts of situations can be avoided by calling each other, voice-message, and making a video call.

"Online dating is more superficial and based on appearances compared to real-world interactions, which is more about how both people feel when interacting with each other in person," the dating expert said how online dating apps like Tinder work differently from asking someone out in real-life.

In the expert’s opinion, while men are in a position of power when it comes to traditional dating, women are in that position with regard to online dating. He said that women get significantly more attention on online apps which can lead to some of them increasing their standards. This, in turn, can lead men to do funny, bizarre, and even desperate things to stand out from the crowd.

"A woman who would normally accept an average, confident, good guy in real life, will often have very high standards and only accept very good looking men on Tinder, or online dating. This results in millions of average-looking men wasting their time trying to match up with women who just aren't going to give them a chance. It also results in some women being able to date very good-looking men who normally wouldn't be interested," Dan explained.

"With traditional dating, average-looking men can enjoy the position of power because almost all men are afraid to approach and talk to women in real life. When an average looking man has the confidence to approach and talk to a woman in real life, as well as the ability to flirt and create a spark during a conversation, he will find that many of the single women he meets show interest and give their phone number," he said.

"In some cases, a pretty woman who would never be interested in him via online dating or Tinder, can fall in love, marry and start a family with him all from him having the courage to walk up and say hello to her in person."

However, the dating expert stressed that most guys do not have the guts to talk to someone in public. They pick the easier, safer route of online dating. However, the price of that is greater competition.

"They end up competing with tens of thousands of other men for the same woman on online dating or Tinder," he said.

"Many guys spend years trying to get a match via online dating when they could get a match in real life in a matter of minutes or hours if they just had the confidence to approach and ability to flirt and create a spark," he suggested that online dating shouldn’t be used in isolation, but as a supplement to traditional dating.