It seemed like the (somewhat sexist) stereotype that all men are predators, hiding behind Tinder on their phones in order to trick girls (Tinderellas), who are naively and hopefully swiping through in search of Prince Charming, might not actually bear any resemblance to reality

This would go on for days on end before any of them even asked me if I was up for meeting them in person. It felt like an interview. My female friends reported the same back from the dating front line, some expressing frustration because they were searching for a quick shag and didn’t understand why they were getting messages about what a stranger was having for lunch.

This not only goes against everything we have been led to believe is happening as a result of the dawn of dating apps but, also, what we’re being shown in pop culture. Phrases like ‘don’t go catching feelings’ litter rap and RnB songs as though emotional connections and attachments are a disease.

Gone is the bawdy titillation of a show like Eurotrash. Gone are tender Cruel Intentions style virginity loss scenes. Today we’re one click away from hardcore porn online, we watch sitcoms like Skins and This is England, barely flinching, shows like GIRLS depict sex in all of its messiness (making Sex and the City look tame) and gritty blockbusters like Shame captivate us.

But despite being exposed to more sex than ever before, it seems like the youth of today aren’t actually doing it all that much. Despite the fact that we’ve got the tools at our fingertips to get it if we really want, the old saying ‘nobody’s having as much sex as you think they are’ seems pretty apt.

Could it be that dating apps are actually stopping us from having sex because we’re all too busy messaging, trying to work out whether we’re compatible with someone we’ve never even actually met in real life? Leia mais