Dating apps are primarily a filter. The value is supposed to be that you never waste time chatting with someone who's uninterested in you or not looking for a relationship.
Filters are also useful.
For women, there are also some safety issues that dating apps can mitigate. If you reject someone and they get angry, they can't insult, stalk, or otherwise harm you. You just unmatch.
Your experience is typical, though. Dating apps are in some ways uncomfortable and dystopian.
You may be interested in Aziz Ansari's book Modern Love for a quick, readable explanation of how we got to this point in dating culture.
> they can't do insult, stalk, or otherwise harm you. You just unmatch.
They absolutely can. I used Tinder for a good while (met my current girlfriend of 1 year there) and a common theme throughout most people that I met is that they were stalked at least once. Even I was, though admittedly to a not very serious degree.
Yes, e-stalked. No one showed up at my house thankfully, but it's pretty disturbing for a single person to message you everywhere (Reddit, Facebook, Twitter, etc) after you reject them.
Filters are also useful.
For women, there are also some safety issues that dating apps can mitigate. If you reject someone and they get angry, they can't insult, stalk, or otherwise harm you. You just unmatch.
Your experience is typical, though. Dating apps are in some ways uncomfortable and dystopian.
You may be interested in Aziz Ansari's book Modern Love for a quick, readable explanation of how we got to this point in dating culture.