Dating apps may be unpopular, but I can’t help but love them
The IndependentStay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more Stay ahead of the curve with our weekly guide to the latest trends, fashion, relationships and more SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. It’s also a shame because I think popular culture is missing out on a profound sexual shift happening at this time – specifically to men. There’s a weight of examples of men writing hilariously badly, for instance when they act like a “softboi” – the strange phenomenon that occurs when sensitive-seeming men on apps claim not to be like “other boys”, oozing superiority the way a slug oozes gross, slimy mucus. Apps aren’t going to make problematic men good, but I really think they can make good men better. If we learn to be honest about both the huge joys and the colossal pains of the app world, normalise talking about them in public, and celebrate when people find each other on apps as well, I think there’s every chance that many more people will wake up next year to an actually cute Valentine’s Day message.