Love at first swipe

The Nanyang Chronicle talks to Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information first-year student Ng Xinyu, and School of Humanities and Social Sciences alumna Felicia Neo, who met their boyfriends on Tinder

FELICIA NEO & MELVIN HUANG

Formerly from School of Humanities and Social Sciences, 26-year-old Felicia met her boyfriend Melvin on Tinder in May in 2015.

PHOTO: FELICIA NEO

Q: What made you decide to use Tinder?
A: I just ended a 7-year long relationship, and I was quite bored, so I decided to use Tinder for fun, just to try out and meet people.

Q: Did you think you would get together with Melvin when you swiped right on his profile?
A: No, I never thought so. But his profile picture had a dog in it, and I like pets, so I swiped right. He talked to me and it was just a simple “hi”. I replied because I liked his dog.

Q: How did you get together?
A: We started talking, and within the third or fourth day I had good feelings about him. We got together pretty soon after.

Q: Were you nervous meeting him for the first time?
A: Not really, because I’ve met other guys through Tinder before. It always felt pretty normal, like just friends going out.

Q: There seems to be a stigma associated with Tinder. Has it affected your relationship in any way?
A: I think there might have been some stigma previously. Before I started using Tinder, I thought people who used Tinder were weird. But I found many people on there with decent jobs. My family knows we met on Tinder, and they are very supportive.

NG XINYU & NICHOLAS KOW

The Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information student met her boyfriend on Tinder during her A-level period in 2014, and they have been in a relationship since March 2015.

PHOTO: NG XINYU

Q: What made you decide to use Tinder?
A: I was bored during the A-level period. Likewise for him; he was in the army.

Q: Did you think you would have ended up together like you are now?
A: No, never. Our relationship progressed so gradually and subtly, it was really unexpected; not the kind where someone sweeps you off your feet.

Q: Were any of your friends or family appalled that the both of you met on Tinder?
A: For those we think might judge us, we’ll use a politically correct story we agreed on. Most think we met at a birthday party.

Q: Do you think it makes any difference to meet someone through an online platform as compared to conventional notions of meeting people?
A: Definitely. When you meet someone online, you usually start off with zero connections and common experiences.

Unlike a friend you meet in real life, you don’t really see someone you met online in different stages of their lives, so you are unable to relate, to empathise with a lot of things they tell you about.

It feels like you don’t have to put up a front because you have no other connections, and you don’t have to worry about judging each other or anything.

Q: Are both of you in it for the long haul?
A: I’m pretty certain we are not going to break up in the next two years, at least.

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Nanyang Chronicle on February 10, 2016, with the headline ‘Love at first swipe’. Print Edition