Have you ever wanted to post a review of someone you’re dating?
Maybe things are great. Maybe things are not so great. Maybe they are too great. It’s hard to weigh out the pros and cons of online dating.
Short of hiring a private eye to check someone out, sometimes word of mouth is the best way to see just who you’re dating.
Women are using a unique app for their dating life called Tea Dating Advice, or just Tea. The app encourages them to post about a man they dated or want to date, anonymously. The posts are pictures of a man with a comment or question.
People are required to submit a selfie proving you are a woman to join.
The app was created in 2023 and recently rose to popularity a year ago. Women saw that they have the freedom to voice their opinions about the men in their city and help other women avoid certain men.
The popularity of dating apps has in a way sabotaged dating for the new generation of singles across the U.S., making for a different dating experience.
Women used to be able to organically meet potential life partners without depending on apps or social media. With the normalization of finding partners through a cellphone, the younger generation must take extreme measures to ensure their safety.
Today, most single men and women in generations Y and Z rely on dating apps such as Tinder, Bumble or even relying on social media to find their next partner. Other than the short, vague profile that online dating apps provide, there is no real way to know exactly who you are speaking with.
There are some drawbacks to the Tea app causing concern for some users.
Tea’s creators faced scrutiny after a data breach last month when users’ pictures and personal information were leaked.
The app could be looked at as potentially unsafe not only due to the recent leak, but because any person could join with intent of spreading false information. This has sparked some controversy online, but people are continuing to post anyway.
Currently, it is unsettlingly easy for individuals to lie about segments of their personality or even go as far as lying about their looks by “catfishing” someone. Anytime people put themselves on a dating app, website or social media page, they become vulnerable to these potential issues.
While Tinder does provide a two-step verification which includes photo and ID verification, it is not a requirement to join the app. Tea can be seen as more reliable because of the verification process that ensures only women can join.
Facebook has groups that provide a similar concept to the Tea app typically named, “Are we dating the same guy?” These groups consist of people uploading pictures of men they are seeing hoping to find out if anyone is also dating him.
While the posts can be helpful, they tend to get overloaded with comments that sometimes don’t even pertain to the subject in hand.
The Tea app provides a clearer path to navigate through a post, even allowing users to add a red or green flag next to a photo of a man posted.
The fact that the Tea app exists shows that women are both fed up with deceit and empowered to take matters into their own hands. Whether women see it as effective remains to be seen.
