We’ve all been there, wondering when we’ll be picked off the high shelf, the dust blown off us and brought back to life by an unrequited love. Through decades of rom com films through the 90’s and early noughties, at times it was bleak for the “loser” hero/heroine character of the story but eventually things always ended pretty good and resulted in the perfect love story. There’s the endless fairy tales that Prince Charming or our Cinderella might be waiting for us out in the big, wide world – but let’s face it you might have to kiss a few toads before you reach them. It can be quite easy to be cynical about love, but, somewhere out there, there really is someone for everyone. I mean, someone had to put up with my Mr C eventually, didn’t they? (wink wink!) With the likes of dating apps such as Badoo, it’s making it easier to meet that special someone to spend our lives with.
I bet you’re all wondering why a married woman like me has found herself writing about a dating app? Well, >Badoo isn’t just about finding the love of your life, oh no it’s not! You can make friends on it too. Badoo is the largest social discovery network in the world making it somewhere you can socialise and meet new people that might have common interests as you. With over 400,000 sign ups a day you might just meet that person in your town who enjoys crocheting as much as you or has a penchant for ball room dancing and they just so happen to need a partner to enjoy that hobby! Finding someone who “gets you” doesn’t always have to be the person you end up spending the rest of your life with. A soul mate can come in the form of friendship too!
Making friends in your late twenties can be hard, especially if you are new to an area, just like I found when I moved to my husband’s neighbourhood. I guess if I had had the opportunity to meet new people, Badoo would have been a great starting point for me! (Damn that darned technology over ten years ago.)
A lot of people ask me how I met my husband. We’ve been together for over 10 years. And, I’ll let you in to a little secret, one that I hope you are ready for the mental image that comes with it. You ready? The night we met I was dressed up as a “sexy cop.” A big ball of curly hair came running up to me and he asked me to spend some time with him. So instead he ran off with my hat and truncheon hoping that I’d find him again, sadly I didn’t. Weird to think that he was the man I was going to marry 6 years later! Luckily, we met again 6 month’s later at the same club night after the ex and I split up. Proving that my happily ever after really was with Mr C and he’d become the love of my life. Funny how things turn out right?
Dating was a lot different when I was growing up. Rewind back to circa 2001, with the likes of mobile phones being at their very basic (erm, hello endless hours of fun on snake) the most we could ever do was send a text to our beau (and that had to be under a certain letter count threshold before we got charged twice.) Followed by a couple of phone calls after 6pm (because, back then things were always cheaper after 6pm and that £10 credit would have to last you the whole month!) You actually had to go out of the house to meet new people, otherwise it would cost you a bleeding fortune, but sometimes heading out on a blind date didn’t always end well.
If I hadn’t have met Mr C a second time I could have been in a very different position. Badoo may have needed to come to my rescue!
Since our beloved 3310’s have been ditched for smart phones, technology has dramatically changed the way we not only view the world but also how we meet people IRL. Because of social media and dating apps like Badoo, the largest dating app out there, it means we can work out if someone is right for us in a completely different way to how we used to.
Gone are the days where you would turn up to a date not knowing what someone would look like! gives you the opportunity not only to get to know someone but see exactly what they look like too. (Despite an individuals personality being a huge draw to someone, there’s a lot that can be said for sexual attraction, too.)
Badoo has flipped that on it’s head with it’s Video Call function within their app. It allows you to chat with someone in real time, face to face – how cool is that? It’s a great way to get to know someone before handing over any phone numbers, too. (I mean, have you seen the programme Catfish?)
Alongside the amazing Video Call function, there is also the location finder. This allows potential daters to find people in the local area. That means you get to meet likeminded people that are local to you. Sometimes location can end up being a deciding factor on whether or not you pursue a long-term relationship with someone. (Where you finally decide to make home is something most people like to agree on, it probably helps if you are already located in the same place!)
Whilst these features allow us to indulge in some eye candy and being able to work out whether someone is a good match for you or not, it’s also improving the safety around meeting someone through the internet and I am here for it! *Hands in the air emoji*
But in all seriousness, with dating online or meeting anyone from the online world, it is a really important factor when meeting anyone new and something you do have to think of when you go on a date. Always check in with a friend or family member afterwards or send a dropped pin to your location to make sure someone knows your whereabouts – safety first!
I often wonder to myself if I’d make it in the world of dating in this day and age? Personally, the very idea of dating now seems pretty scary and alien to me. But, I guess if I was in a completely different situation to what I am currently, I’m sure that within a pool of 364 million Badoo users, the largest dating app out there, there would be someone out there who would put up with me, surely?
I truly believe that there is a half of you, in somebody else and that when you meet, you just know that the pieces fit together. It might not take you long, it might take what seems forever but out there, somewhere, anywhere there is a soul mate for everyone. (Yeah, I’m corny underneath it all!)
How do you find dating in a modern world? Do you find it harder now than back in the early noughties? Or, how have you found new friends in your late twenties? Let me know in the comments below.
Bee
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*this post was in collaboration with Badoo. All words and views my own. There is someone out there for everyone ❤️
