Let’s talk about an emerging medium of social interaction: Dating apps.

I’m not going to lie, I love them. I think they’re great. And kind of hilarious.

1. Hot or Not: I can’t really decide whether this is actually a dating app or merely a self esteem validator, but nonetheless, it’s kinda fun. There is an endless stream of members of the opposite sex (or same sex, up to you) and you just say whether you find them attractive or not. And like all of them, once you both rate each other “hot” you can message from there. Personally, I would have to give this app a “not” because there’s no way of validating your profile information or age setting. And honestly I just don’t really like the formatting.

2. Coffee Meets Bagel: Honestly, I think this is a really great app if you’re interested in legitimately meeting someone you could have a connection with. The app takes into account your interests and preferences, and, using your facebook profile, supplies one candidate everyday around noon. This candidate normally has a number of mutual facebook friends and meets the criteria you deem important. You are allowed to see their age, pictures, mutual friends, and interests, but not their name which I find to be very interesting. Overall it’s a great app, again, if you’re actually looking for a date.

3. Bristlr: This one’s kind of the black sheep of the list, but I thought I’d include it just for fun. Basically, it’s specified for men with beards and women looking for men with beards. So you are legitimately just shown guys with beards within a predetermined radius and decide whether they’re attractive or not and they do the same. I’m not going to lie, I downloaded this app just kinda to see what it was and was kinda bored by it. Maybe it’ll take off, but for the moment there’s not that many people on there and the one’s who are aren’t really in the age range most of us would be interested in.

4. Tinder: My personal favorite. I have had a Tinder profile since about my junior year of high school and, I’m not going to lie, I’m kind of obsessed with it. Originally, I was one of those girls who used it just as a self esteem boost, but honestly the people on there are hilarious. Many people have trouble hitting on people in person, but when you add the cover of a cell phone, all bets are off. You get some very elaborate, entertaining, and sometimes just scary pick up lines and even better conversation. Now, it’s something of a time killer.

But with Tinder, you need to take some precaution. First and foremost, stranger danger. Tinder takes all of your information and pictures from a facebook profile in order to deter false info, but that doesn’t necessarily protect you. If you use it and plan to meet up with someone, use your internet stalking skills to try and make sure they’re real. Google, google, google. And never meet them off the grid. Meet in a public place and always tell a friend where you’re going, what you’re doing, etc. Also, Tinder  has become a very popular app, so you WILL find people you know. There’s no ifs and or buts about it. You will. So know your strategy. If you swipe right (the attractive option), there’s some possible mixed messages and awkwardness. However if you swipe left (the reject option), you risk offending them, thus creating awkwardness again. Personally, I have taken the rule to swipe right on every single person I know, because I love awkwardness. But if you choose to do the same, prepare to be hit on by some people you kind of know, or have some tension the next time you see them in person. Finally, mostly the worst thing that can happen to you on tinder (besides actual physical danger) is having someone recognize you in person. It’s WEIRD. For some reason guys find it socially acceptable to message you saying they saw you somewhere IRL, and, honestly, it’s kind of stalker-y. If you recognize someone, please keep it to yourself.

Overall, I think dating apps are fun. Granted, I don’t actually use them for dating, but they’re certainly entertaining. If you’ve already beaten candy crush and are getting sick of trivia crack, I recommend them.