Dating apps have never been my thing. I much prefer to meet people out at happy hour, or through a friend, or on an airplane. I’ve even gone out with two people I met on the road while driving. (They were in the car next to me. We spoke at stoplights. And yes, in case you’re wondering, this is partly why I’m not the best driver and why Mike came along with me on my book tour. I’m completely guilty of looking at who’s in the cute pickup in front of me instead of focusing on what the speed limit is or when my lane ends).
A Day Date Look I Love
But most of my friends have met their significant others on dating apps, and for the most part, I think they’re a great option for meeting somebody.
So what lines work best?
I downloaded Bumble to see and tried out a series of different openers. The results were interesting…
Hey!” This opening line is like an echo: you get back exactly what you shout out. “Hey!” the men would respond. “What’s up?” I’d say next. “What’s up with you?” They’d write back. Good news, most men responded. Bad news: it felt like we were AIM buddies chatting on dial up internet and back in seventh grade.
“Are you a left or right Twix kinda guy?” My sister introduced me to this line the same way Elle Woods introduces Paulette to the Bend and Snap. Just like the Bend and Snap this line has a “98 percent success rate of getting a man’s attention, and — when used appropriately — an 83 percent rate of return on a dinner invitation.” I couldn’t believe it. Men got very creative with their answers to this question and the conversations were funny. My favorite response (when I forgot to respond to his answer) was: “Did I pick the wrong side?”
“Hey (insert name). What are your plans tonight?” 100% success rate. I’m not sure if this is because this line makes me sound easy, or if people just don’t want to make small talk on this app like me and realize that they might very quickly get to meet me and be able to decide face to face if there’s a connection and chemistry.
“Hey, (insert name)! How’s your week going?” 15% response rate. I thought something simple and easy would be a good way to start a conversation, but my matches seemed to disagree. Maybe because it’s a line that’s easy to forget and so they easily forgot about me. Or maybe because the guy felt he then had to be the one to really start the conversation and come up with something flirty and we all know men are on Bumble so they don’t have to be the one to “start things.” As tempting as it seems, best not to go with this one, ladies.
“Hey (Insert name)! Looks like you’re pretty adventurous. Where was the last place you traveled to? (Or comment on anything in his profile).” 75% response rate. Pretty successful, but then we’re not flirting for the next six or seven messages and I feel like I’m in a very lengthy job interview for a position I’m not even sure that I want (because I have no idea if we have chemistry!).
“Hey! I’m in town visiting. Any spots I need to check out?” Almost 100% of the time, when I used this opener, I would get completely deleted by him from the app. I was surprised by this, but I did find it promising. Because it shows that people really are looking to meet someone they could actually date on Bumble and not just trying to get drinks or have a fling with someone passing through.
If you have success, with these lines or others, comment below!
And if you do set up a day date with one of your matches, I’m loving this Rails button down, these Madewell Jeans, and these Castaner Espadrilles.
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