As someone who is on the dating scene after my wife died of cancer some thoughts:

1) There are a lot more men on the dating apps than women.

2) Using just pictures to judge men doesn’t really work for women. See https://archive.ph/20251006053755/https://medium.com/the-kno... for discussion.

My personal experience, based on what I’m going through and what friends have to say:

3) 17 years ago, it was possible to meet and know really attractive women on the apps.

4) These days, the really attractive women no longer use apps.

5) The apps are optimized for engagement, not giving people successful romance.

Right now, the woman I’m currently dating is someone I met at church, not on the apps. The men I know who have success with women prefer the women they meet outside of the apps.

As a shy geek without too many social connections, the apps (websites, actually) were a very positive game changer 17 years ago. These days, they are more a liability than asset when it comes to dating.