SU’s dating scene is ‘buns,’ but some students attempt to find love online
Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.
It seems like every day a new article drops about Gen Z’s lack of sexual activity or the rise of “screenagers” hindering human connection.
At Syracuse University, some lament that “hookup culture” has ruined the dating scene on campus. In the digital era, with ever-evolving technology and rising detachment, finding authentic love has become a modern challenge that requires modern solutions.
Combine sex, screens and SU, and you get one thing: dating apps.
SU sophomore Gaven Getter has been on Tinder for almost two years. After starting his profile in high school, Getter expected to keep using the app when he moved to Syracuse.
What Getter didn’t expect?
“The dating scene here is kind of buns. Sorry,” Getter said. “I’m not gonna lie to you.”
Getter isn’t alone in feeling pessimistic about modern romance. According to Forbes, 78% of online dating users report dating app fatigue. But burnout doesn’t mean abandonment. On college campuses overrun with students, online dating is popular for providing an easier, more accessible look at potential romantic prospects.
In high school, Sage Gerloff’s classmates used Wizz — a social media app aimed at forming connections for teenagers — for “friend-making,” which Gerloff said she didn’t use. But Gerloff, now an SU sophomore, downloaded Hinge “for the love of the game” with her friends during her freshman year.
“I decided that I would be a guinea pig for everyone,” Gerloff said. “I went on a singular actual date.”
The date was fun, Gerloff said. For a few days, the two stayed in touch; that was until she got ghosted. A year later, Gerloff frequently runs into her date on campus, which she describes as “awesome.”
Running into your Tinder match or Hinge date is a shared phenomenon among dating app users on campus, SU sophomore Chloe Pusey said. While rushing a professional fraternity last spring, Pusey stood next to someone she thought looked familiar. That’s when it hit her.
“He said, ‘It’s great to finally meet you,’” Pusey said. “That’s when I realized I matched, then un-matched, with him the previous night. Oh my God.”
However, nothing beats seeing one of her good friends come up as a potential match, Pusey said. All of her single friends made Hinge profiles together as a hangout activity, so it was only a matter of time before they found each other on the app, she said.
SU junior Grace Tolbert used Tinder and Hinge her freshman year. Tolbert often matched with people, yet “nothing ever came of it.” Seeing her matches in dining halls or classes is awkward, Tolbert said.
For many people, another awkward yet integral part of starting the dating app journey in college is setting up a profile. On most apps, users select around four to six photos of themselves along with optional prompts. Before matching, profiles are the first impression for potential partners.
It’s weird putting so much information about yourself, like your age and interests, on an app for strangers, Tolbert said. If you want to show off your personality, selecting images that deliver a “goofy” or “caring” character helps, Getter said.
But Pusey offers a different perspective.
“It’s all about thirst-trapping,” Pusey said. “Nobody really cares what the words are on your feed because, like, I ain’t reading all that.”
Getter said when he hangs out with his colleagues, they often swipe through dating apps, which annoys him. It’s strange to have that much access to others so casually and to be able to scroll through profiles that match your interests so easily, Getter said.
“You know ‘Princess Diaries’?” Getter said. “When they’re in the movie theater finding her a husband, that’s exactly what it’s like, dude.”
WHAT YOU SHOULD READ NEXT
Marriage Pact reaps unexpected matches for over 3,000 students
Over 3,000 Syracuse University students completed a questionnaire by Marriage Pact to discover their perfect match on campus.
Though there are downsides, dating apps sometimes provide a positive way for others to connect. Not being the type of person to just “go home with somebody,” Gerloff said dating apps can be useful in breaking the ice with others. And they can serve as a confidence booster.
“I’d open my phone and there’s random people telling me they’d move heaven and Earth for me,” Gerloff said. “Like sh-t. Thanks?”
For others, it can take away the anxiety and pressure of pursuing someone in person. Describing his friends as “scared of women,” Getter said dating apps have helped his friends secure dates around campus without confronting people.
But can dating apps lead to long-lasting relationships?
“I don’t know anyone who has found love on Hinge,” Gerloff said. “Except for Mamdani.”
Gerloff, Pusey and Tolbert are all now in relationships that started in person. Digital dating felt like “artificial love,” so meeting someone organically was better, Tolbert said. Meeting someone in person allows people to get a sense of each other’s personalities and decide whether to continue talking, Pusey said.
“Getting a vibe in person is so different from getting a vibe through a phone,” Pusey said. “Also it could be an 80-year-old guy trying to catfish you as a 20-year-old.”
Describing dating apps as “sus,” Pusey’s recommendation is to just go out and meet people. Tolbert agrees that finding love in person makes things more realistic.
Despite these drawbacks, Gerloff still has faith in dating app users at SU. Dating apps allow users to connect in different ways and find like-minded partners, Gerloff said.
Getter has mixed feelings about the dating app debate. The positives of online dating at SU are the connections with other students and the novelty of digital young love, Getter said. As he gets older, Getter hopes to find love in person.
“I’ve always told myself if I’m single by the time I’m 30, there’s no point. I’m not using an app,” Getter said. “I’m just gonna stay alone for the rest of my life. I don’t want to be on one of those old folks dating sites.”
