Tinder just rolled out a new feature on the app called Tinder U, and college students are its main benefactor. Only available to students of accredited four-year nonprofit schools, Tinder U uses a .edu email address to connect college students with each other. Users can connect to neighboring college campuses too.

Syracuse University was recently ranked fourth as one of the nation’s top party schools, and Tinder U could add more fuel to the social fire.

At face value, the concept of Tinder U is helpful to the modern dating app user. No longer do students have to navigate tricky waters browsing among students from schools that may be distant from campus, they won’t have to adjust the age limit or distance limit, or worry about the person lying about their identity on the other side of the screen. With the “.edu” email address requirement, users are more aware of who’s looking at their profile.

But still, not everyone uses the app. You look through different people from your school and other schools, and then what? There doesn’t seem to be much difference between Tinder and Tinder U on that note.

While it does create more individual connections for students on campus and adds to the vibrant social life on campus, Tinder U still lacks the same thing as Tinder: it doesn’t introduce a user to every single person out there.

“Algorithms are the strengths and the weaknesses. People trust a machine to help them find what they’re looking for … but don’t always know what they’re looking for,” Ryerson University professor Ramona Pringle said via email. By putting yourself in an algorithm, even one specifically designed for college students, you might miss someone who you’d really connect with, Pringle said.

So ultimately, does putting our love life in another algorithm make sense if it doesn’t actually introduce us to everyone?

“A little bit of this and a little bit of that. It can’t hurt, if you’re smart and safe about it,” Pringle said. “That said, don’t be so glued to the screen that you’re oblivious to the person trying to strike up a conversation with you at the library, who just happens to be holding your favorite book and wearing a T-shirt from your favorite band.”

To the prospective Tinder U user, go ahead and try it out. The app itself seems handy, especially if you’re in need of meeting new people. But don’t be fooled: there is a lot more the campus and student body have to offer than your phone. Another app won’t change that.

Just remember that the people you meet is dependent on you and if you put yourself out there, not a phone.

Lianza Reyes is a junior broadcast and digital journalism major. Her column runs biweekly. She can be contacted at lireyes@syr.edu.

Published on September 3, 2018 at 9:18 pm