Things got creepy.
Remee Patel/ Alice Mongkongllite / BuzzFeed
Although this isn't the case for me personally, it got me wondering about Tinder and interested in how parents would react to it. What if I let my mother use my Tinder and did the swiping for me? How would she cope with courting in cyberspace?
When I approached her with the idea (I refrained from mentioning dick pics), I could see a glint of excitement in her eye. This of course disappeared as soon as I mentioned that 1) it was a mobile app and 2) it involved an action called "swiping". I could see her mum brain go into overdrive, and she soon panicked, saying:
"THIS ALL SOUNDS VERY COMPLICATED, REMEE."
Which I guess is to be expected from a woman who still operates a flip phone.
I decided that the best way to proceed without confusing her would be to take it one step at a time. I started by getting her to set up my profile and making her choose pictures from my Facebook account, which was conveniently already linked to the app. When selecting the photos, she told me she thought it was important people saw my smile and that the photos expressed who I was or appealed to potential suitors. "They might be an animal person," she said, picking a picture of me hugging a labrador.
When I told her to write the "About Me" section, she immediately asked, "What, like your hobbies?" I replied, "Whatever you think is appropriate, Mum," then walked out of the room cringing.
What on earth would she write?
I didn't have any bloody hobbies, which could only mean she would resort to listing past achievements: orange badge at swimming and Grade 1 piano.
After an hour had passed, I checked on her. I found her squinting furiously at the screen because she'd forgotten where she'd put her reading glasses. She handed me the phone, evidently quite stressed from it all, and told me she was done.
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