The Jerk Guide to Tinder Social
Tinder is a fact of life in college, and as such, it gets boring very quickly. You have at least six mutual friends with every potential match in Syracuse, and you’re pretty sure half of them are in your stats class. The cure for Tinder boredom is simple: turn on Tinder Social, make a group, and get swiping.
Tinder Social is essentially the same as Tinder, but you’re in a group with your friends. You have to be friends on Facebook and you can only be in one group at a time, so choose wisely. Once you get going, everyone in the group can swipe on all of the groups within your radius. Matches open up communication in one big group chat between all of the members of both groups. And don’t worry – you can still unmatch just as easily. Ready? Here’s your guide to making the most of the best feature you’ve never used.
DO have an opener ready to go.
Introducing your group to other people can be awkward, so to get things started the right way by having a pickup line or joke ready to go. It can be the same as your regular first Tinder message, but a group brainstorming session is highly recommended and highly entertaining. Make sure that everyone in the group knows your go-to introduction to minimize confusion or accidental innuendos.
DON’T be overly sexual right off the bat.
Just like in the regular version of the app, you want to come off like you can at least hold a conversation before getting into the sex stuff. Starting off with “Felicia won’t do math but the real question is will she do anal?” is a horrible way to get into a conversation with people you’ve just met. (And a real message sent to my group last week).
DO know your group’s intentions.
Why did you get into the Tinder Social game? Your group might be out to have a few interesting conversations, find a new group of friends, or even have some sort of weird, half-friendly orgy (no judgment). Make sure everyone in the group understands what you want to get out of this experience and everything will go so much smoother. This is even more important when you have a group with different genders in it. A group of four girls and a group of three girls and one guy will get vastly different receptions.
DON’T ask to hang out too soon.
So you’ve found a group that you like and you’ve decided you want to hang out in real life. Be certain that your two groups have good chemistry before you do this, because the affection might be one-sided. Also, even more importantly, never ask to hang out as your introduction. No, they will not want to go to DJ’s tonight.
DO use gifs.
Tinder’s gif feature is the best thing to ever happen to the app, hands down. Anything that can be said with words can usually be represented even better with a gif because they’re so universally beloved and enjoyable. Pro tip: don’t use the ones that pop up when you first open up the gif keyboard. Instead, make the most of the search feature. They get incredibly specific! With proper gif usage, you’ll be unstoppable on Tinder Social. Get ready to have the strangest interactions you’ve ever experienced.