Dating in the 21st century feels at times akin to wandering blithely across a live minefield, blindfolded.
The potential pitfalls, embarrassments and jeopardy involved are simply innumerable, and frankly it's a surprise that more people don't simply denounce the whole institution and go to live in happy isolation in a forest somewhere.
In the past - one imagines - dating was a far simpler affair. Though it might seem convenient to merely swipe left and right to make decisions over potential love interests, it is undeniably a rather cosmetic approach. Gone are the days of romantic letters, of actual face-to-face meet cutes, replaced instead by an extended toilet break to swipe furiously across a phone screen.
Of course, I sound outmoded, and many would consider my views decidedly archaic, flying in the face as they do of modern technological advancements and societal changes. When miracles do happen, though, and two people actually meet up to go on a date together, the jeopardy is still not over, as these frankly bizarre texts that people received after going on a date will surely attest.
1. Let's kick off with a nice one...
2. And then immediately take a turn for the worse
3. Doesn't seem very fair
4. Giving men a bad name
5. Modern dating can be somewhat cut-throat
6. Just mates, yeah?
7. That's... That's a bit much
8. Why would anyone do that?
9. Actually a brilliant follow up text, that
10. I think that means he likes you?
11. "Private pictures" is such a weird phrase
12. Er, thanks?
13. Yeah, but seriously, /10?
14. Does this mean we're not going for a second date? Or are you a spy?
15. Let's finish with this genuinely really lovely text
What a cornucopia of text messages that was; a real mixed bag which just goes to prove that, when it comes to dating, there really is no set of hard and fast rules to follow.
We all know that dating in the 21st century is an utter minefield.
Technology has rendered the traditional face to face method of dating obsolete - at least until a few weeks of witty repartee on online dating apps has confirmed that the two parties involved might, in fact, have something in common.
While online dating and apps like Tinder might have made the initial throes of dating a little more convenient and palatable, they have also lead to the rise of unsolicited pictures and conversation that are as cringeworthy as they are unwanted.
Here, then, are some women who had the perfect response ready when they received some decidedly creepy messages from guys.
1. A second option
2. That's a great shower wall
3. It pays to be neat and tidy
4. That the sort of thing you had in mind?
5. Not quite what you wanted?
6. "oi"
7. Ducks not d*cks
8. Brutal
9. The next best thing
There's no need to play along with creepy or unwanted messages, and these women certainly had the perfect response.
The online dating world and communicating via messages can be a challenge for the best of us. Sometimes you'll send extremely embarro messages to the wrong number, other times you might use emojis that end up accidentally offending someone. But a lot of the time, weirdo chat up lines, unasked for pictures of private parts and outright perverse messages are not welcome, land in your message box anyway.
Come on guys, it's not that hard. Can you just not be creepy and gross and send nice, interesting questions to start a decent conversation, that doesn't end up with you feeling utterly disgusted with the human population? I mean, there are actual tips from experts about how to successfully navigate the online dating world.
Anyway, there are ways you can fend off and deflect such messages from creeps, and we've collected the best of the bunch for you to take inspiration from.
1. Two can play that game
2. Generic AND grammatically incorrect... that calls for something drastic
3. Not interested buddy
4. Enough of this small talk
5. Lol... this "cat"
6. Let's talk practicalities
7. A picture speaks a thousand words
8. Well played
9. Not really feeling it tbh
10. Be more specific about next time
11. Scare them with randomness
12. That'll freak him out...
13. Cera-ously?
These are just too good. Keep them saved in your repertoire just in case you're subject to messages of a similar nature in the future.
A man has declared that he will be deleting Tinder after his date awkwardly screenshot his message and sent it to him by accident.
Dating in the modern world can be incredibly hard because it seems like the days of meet cutes are behind us and everything is done online.
Sure, there are exceptions to that, but everyone lives in their own bubble nowadays so striking up a conversation out in public can be a scary thing to do.
With that being said, the rise of dating apps means we can make those connections from the comfort of our own homes - but it also leads to some horror stories when it comes to the first meet-up.
Harry, who the Daily Mail reports to be from Leeds in England, took to Twitter where he shared an image of the moment that he vowed to never use dating apps again.
The screengrab shows a text exchange between Harry and his date Rachel, and it seems like the unlucky man had a pretty nice time.
So much so that he asked: "Hey, I had a really nice time last night. Would love to see you again some time?"
A pretty sweet request that deserves a polite response, right?
Well, Rachel replied with a screenshot of his message back to him followed by "LMAO" (laughing my a** off).
Tinder is a popular dating app for people looking to find love. Credit: Luis Alvarez/Getty
It's obvious that she didn't really like the date and had been discussing it with somebody else, and Harry's request for another one was a joke that needed sharing.
Unfortunately for Rachel, the messages were sent via iMessage and you can't unsend them, so she was left scrambling and quickly said: "Oh my God, I'm so sorry."
But at this point, the damage was done and Harry's pride had been dented forever, as he took to X (formerly Twitter) to say: "Im deleting tinder."
Harry has vowed to delete Tinder following the unfortunate exchange. Credit: Luis Alvarez/Getty
People rushed to offer Harry some support in his time of need, as one person penned: "Tinder and dating isn’t even worth it bro. It’s such a waste of time."
A second person said: "She dont deserve you anyway, keep that chin up," while a third added: "You dodged a bullet, keep your head up king."
We hope Harry has better luck in the future and this hasn't put him off dating for life.
While the world of online dating has opened up new channels of communication that never used to be possible, it does have its downsides. For every story of someone meeting their life partner on Tinder or Bumble, there are 100 stories of unsolicited d**k pics, inappropriate language and just downright harassment.
Unfortunately, the majority of these messages come from men - who believe that they have a divine right to talk in a crude and disgusting manner to females in order to land themselves a date. However, while a large percentage of females simply ignore the messages, some do respond and it can be majestic.
Take a look at 13 of the best replies to creepy male text messages ever sent.
1. She answered the question to be fair
2. Lava or a creep? I know which I'd take
3. Well, you didn't specify
4. Very punny
5. Urm, I don't really get where this is going
6. The female BOSS
7. I wonder which part of "no" he doesn't understand - the "n" or the "o"?
8. Tinder or an English lesson? You decide
9. The perfect answer
10. She's got you sussed, Alex
11. You two would make a great couple
12. Wheeeeeey!
13. She has absolutely done you there
So there you have it, the best way to deal with creepy Tinder trolls is to clap back at them. Not only will it more than likely shut them up, but you may even achieve a certain level of internet notoriety.
A woman has opened up about a pretty awkward date that she went on, where she was dumped via text 45 seconds after the pair met.
Dating can be tough, can't it? It seems to involve just endlessly swiping through apps, being ghosted, and sometimes even involves being ridiculed for not being able to afford to pay for someone's meal.
First dates can usually be make or break, with most knowing pretty early on whether they want to see the person they've gone out with again or not.
In the circumstances that it doesn't go well, somebody has to bite the bullet and let the other one down - but usually, it's done a bit more respectfully than running away within the first minute.
Sadly an unfortunate woman found herself in that exact situation as her date bailed very early on and sent her an awkward text, as she revealed in her now-viral TikTok.
Rachel Wilson posted the video that explained: "My Hinge date left 45 seconds after meeting me to 'move his car' but then texted me: 'Sorry, wasn't feeling it [sad face emoji].'"
Regardless of whether her date was feeling it or not, bailing in under a minute and leaving her alone at the sports bar seems pretty unfair.
She further explained the situation to NeedToKnow.online, where she revealed that she went outside the venue to see where he had gone.
Rachel waited for five minutes before she received the text, which she explained that she didn't respond to immediately - presumably shocked at the audacity of the man.
The pair had been talking for a few days on the dating app prior to the meeting and Rachel seemed fairly confident that there were no "red flags" before they saw each other face to face.
So it's no wonder being ditched in less than a minute came as a bit of a surprise - especially as the man had taken the time to show up in the first place.
People in the comments were equally as shocked as Rachel, as one person said: "The dating pool is really at rock bottom," while a second added: "I don’t get what makes them act like that. Like why did you show up then?"
Credit: TikTok
Credit: TikTok
The comments were also full of people sharing their unfortunate dating stories, as one person said: "I saw my gym crush on hinge. He lived 15 mins away from me but told me he couldn’t do long distance. I still would see him at the gym before I moved."
Credit: TikTok
With the man clearly liking things to be done in 45 seconds, it seems like Rachel dodged a huge bullet.