Should you quit online dating?

Have you relied too heavily on your phone to meet women?

A while ago I wrote this article about why you should take a break from your dating apps. Taking a more hardline approach, here are a few of the best reasons from around the internet for giving them up altogether:

1. Too many people suffer from paradox of choice

According to this article from Yahoo!:

If you prize options above all else, online and app dating delivers that in spades. Within 48 hours of joining Tinder, I had about 200 matches — which, as a writer/professional hermit, is probably more than I’d meet in five years doing the meet-and-greet method. App and online dating is literally a mile-long buffet, with something to satisfy any craving.

Even someone who is really, really good at meeting potential matches in person (which is, uh, not me) would only be able to meet a few people a day, max, says Marisa T. Cohen, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at St. Francis College and co-founder of the Self-Awareness and Bonding Lab.

“Online sites dramatically increase the pool of eligible partners for those interested in finding a mate,” Cohen tells me. “In a society in which we are often too busy to take a break … online dating allows us to ‘meet’ people without ever leaving home or the office.”

2. Doesn’t give you enough context about the other person

According to this article in Huffington Post:

Sure, whether it’s real life or virtual reality, the first thing you notice is how someone looks, but in a real life, you quickly see how someone acts, moves, sounds, etc.

These other important attributes are what creates someone individuality, and takes them from being just anyone to uniquely them.

If I didn’t like what I saw, I was quick to swipe left. No thought other than, nope, not what I think I like. Hair, eyes, skin color, height, weight all became your stats in a world where I had never used statistics to make my choice of who I might be interested in.

3. Single life isn’t as bad as it’s portrayed

According to this article in The Telegraph:

Marketing and the film industry tells us that ‘Planet Single’ is a barren, isolated wasteland where it rains the silent tears of the broken-hearted. Escape from this planet is mandatory.

But for most single people I know life is pretty good. Being on the shelf is only a problem if your shelf is dull. In fact, the older you get, the more interesting your shelf is likely to become and the harder it is to be coaxed off.

And we are extending our own shelf-life everyday by staying fitter, healthier and more attractive for longer. Women are no longer crying into their Chardonnay. Singles are more likely to be playing capoeira; dining at secret supper clubs; running with the Good Gym or digging up their home-grown kale.