Side-by-Side: What’s the Best Way to Meet Someone?

Kaylee Stinebiser and Miranda Smith debate whether meeting IRL or on a dating app is better.

Kaylee: I’d Rather Meet Someone in Person

Meeting someone in person is (or, at least, should be) the first step in dating and/or finding a relationship. I know meeting someone IRL seems old-fashioned and probably frightening, I think everyone should give it a chance.

I’m not thinking about the dangers of Catfishing and possibly starting an online relationship with an 80-year-old man from South Dakota. I’m talking about making an honest connection with someone — something that can most easily be done in person.

I’ll be the first one to admit that making small-talk with random people around me is not my favorite thing to do. Talking to people is awkward, and Tinder (or Match.com, but even that seems out-of-date now) is distant. It’s easy to ask someone for a date or tell someone you’re not interested if they aren’t staring right at you.

But with online dating, you miss out on the natural connection that happens when you make eye contact with someone.

I met my boyfriend right here on campus. We were both commuters taking a Gen Ed course, which I feel unbelievably lucky for because how else would an English major meet an Accounting major when neither spends much time on campus outside the classroom? I sat on in the middle of the room, and he sat in the back.

This April, we’ll celebrate our two-year anniversary. When I say we can be ourselves with each other, I mean it. I can wear no makeup, and he can kiss me without showering after carrying piles of 12-foot-long plywood up two flights of stairs in 90-degree heat. We make each other laugh, we binge Netflix shows together, and we have mini-dates at Dunkin Donuts.

He is the sugar to my tea.

And the truth is, we learned more about each other in those first awkward conversations in the Powers Hall hallway after class than you could ever imagine. Relationships need nervous moments — conversations when your heart is spasming and you’re squeezing your water bottle so tightly in your hands to hide the shaking in your fingers.

So go to the bookstore. Go to the coffee shop. Go to the bar, if you want (but be careful). Meet someone in person. Connect with them. Humans need other humans.

Miranda: Give Dating Apps a Shot

I’m gonna take a minute here and talk about something that people love talking about. Yes, you guessed it: online dating.

As I’m sure you’ve realized by now, we’re currently living in a world where the Internet has taken over. There’s an app for everything, and we’re constantly online for one thing or another.

Several apps and websites exist in the world for people to meet each other online. I know a lot of these sites get a bad reputation because it is assumed that all those people want sex and nothing else.

I am here to tell you that this is not always the case, and dating apps are actually a great way to get to know someone. These apps let you know if the feelings are mutual by matching you with other people. The profiles usually give interesting information and make it easy to start a conversation.

I’m speaking from personal experience. I met my current boyfriend of seven months on a dating app.

I know people will tell you that face-to-face interaction is better, but I don’t agree. My ex-boyfriend was a complete jerk, and I didn’t know until it was too late. Meeting someone in person doesn’t always work out the way that you want it to. Also, if you like face-to-face interaction, that’s what FaceTime is for.

Finding love is a rollercoaster, at least you know the intentions of those people online before you agree to meet them.

All I’m trying to say is if you’re unsure about dating apps, give it a shot. You can’t form a real opinion until to try it. Who knows? You may be surprised by what happens.