I actually prefer the swiping apps. As a man I’m expected to make the first move and on apps like OkC it’s easy to waste a lot of time and effort messaging people who are not at all interested in me. The swiping is a signal that there is at least some mutual interest there before I put effort in.

But the main problem with the dating apps is the business model. Their job is to help you find love, but if you find love you delete the app and they don’t make any more money. So they’re incentivized to keep you single forever. I don’t believe Hinge at all when they say they want you to delete their app as quickly as possible.

> The swiping is a signal that there is at least some mutual interest there before I put effort in.

I think you vastly overestimate the "interest" a swipe represents. A significant number of people swipe out of boredom and a lot of swipes are mistakes.