Swipe Left

For those who find dating apps exhausting, small talk meaningless, and
swipes too transactional… love isn’t gone, it’s just waiting beyond the
algorithm, in moments that are not artificial.

By Disha Gattani

Is it still about fate, or just another formula to crack?
Siddhi Arora, 29, data analyst from Delhi at Wipro, has her doubts. “I got tired
of the ‘situationships.’ Everything felt temporary. I’d go on great dates, but the
moment things got real, people pulled away. It’s like no one wants to invest
anymore.” After a year of swiping left on dating apps, and right on
disappointment, she decided to quit them all.

Ishita Katoch, 20, pursuing her pursuing fashion communication from Pearl
Academy, Delhi, “My parents met at a coaching class. For a year, letters were
written to my mom by my dad before she said yes! Now, moving on has
become too easy, one bad date, and the next person is just swiped to.”

Theoretically, having more dating options should increase our chances of
finding attachment. But according to psychologists this is the paradox of
choice, when given too many options, we struggle to commit to just one. The
irony? While apps promise infinite possibilities, they often leave people
feeling lonelier than ever.

The exhaustion is real. One minute, you’re making weekend plans; the next,
you’re staring at a ghosted chat. Conversations start, but never go beyond
“Hey, how are you?” The moment things require effort, people check out.

“I felt like I was running in circles,” Mirshthi Grover, 20, pursuing fashion
communication from Pearl Academy, Delhi admits, “Texting, matching,
meeting, then repeating the cycle with someone new,” she adds.

Take a step back and rethink love. Maybe it’s still found in unexpected
moments, in the stranger who offers their umbrella in the rain, in a bookshop debate over the last copy of a bestseller, in a friendship that slowly turns into
something more.

“I joined a ‘weekend hiking group’ from Delhi through Instagram,” Mirshthi
Grover says. “I’ve had the most organic, pressure-free conversations there.
Real chemistry isn’t in a text; it’s in how we laugh together, how unexpected
debates unfold, and how small moments turn meaningful,” she adds.

Real connection isn’t outdated; it just grows where validation isn’t rushed.
Maybe it’s less about proving something and more about building something
together.