> I think most people don't actively have any way to meet single people their age, so people pretend apps are somehow a band aid for a deeply atomized society

> I think most people don't actively have any way to meet single people their age, so people pretend apps are somehow a band aid for a deeply atomized society Looking back, I wasted my most dateable years doing exactly this. I thought if I just stayed on the apps a little longer, put up with the dopamine-drip machine bullshit just a little more, I'd meet someone. I wasn't even relying entirely on them – I attended a church, volunteered at a soup kitchen, and other things where you're supposed to be able to meet people, but I wonder if maybe I would have emphasized them more (seeking out more volunteer opportunities, etc) without the gambler's promise of the dating apps panning out "any day now."