Dating on Tinder is a thing of the past. The last thing to do is to create “love summaries” in Google Docs.

Pair by pair and I shoot because it’s my turn. Tinder has made dating a more precise and selective task, but over the years, many have realized that in the end you run into people who do not match what you are really looking for. Lots of interviews and few hires.

The Rise of Dating Papers. An article in the New York Times exposed this increasingly popular trend. Instead of using apps like Tinder, a Notion or Google Docs document is created in which they reveal their interests and what they are looking for in a partner. A “Date Me” document that is posted on their own social media and all they have to do is contact any potential interested party.

Instead of having a casual conversation with someone based on the app’s curriculum vitae, you have access to a document where the points are already cleared up and you can see if it’s what you’re looking for. A method with more information and where external apps are not needed for flirting. All from a simple document we created.

Resumes the search for love (or something else). Instead of being made for job hunting, they are now also made for finding a partner and flirting. Read-only documents that anyone on the network can read and link to if they’re interested.

The idea is not new, but in recent months there has been a boom in this practice, mainly in technical profiles. The total number of “love resumes” circulating is unknown, but there are hundreds of users on social media who link to these Google Docs in their bios.

More personal, less algorithmic. “I still use dating apps, although much less in recent months. They just don’t work for me in terms of getting serious dates,” explains Connie Lee, a software engineer who uses the practice and has received dozens of responses.

The argument for these “Dating Papers” versus apps like Tinder is that the route is much more direct and personal. Instead of being subject to app algorithms and user swipes, creating a “love resume” and posting it on social media is closer. Anyone can access it, it doesn’t have to be a direct subscriber.

How to write a love resume. There are many templates for creating a resume. Not much for these ‘Date-Me Docs’. Here, each of them controls their weapons. Most often, gender, age, sexual orientation, interests and some images are indicated, as well as some funny text to attract attention.

Dating apps are already taking notice. According to those who choose this method, the chance of getting an appointment is less than with Tinder, but they tend to be more natural and rational. “It reminds me of the early days of the Internet,” Lee explains. Open and transparent interaction, but not subject to the intent of the opaque algorithms of dating applications.

As a result of this trend growing, Tinder has tried to adapt by updating profiles. To be able to add more information and make it a direct way to link.

Image | Christian Liu

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