Bumble is pretty much like Tinder – at least from my inexperienced viewpoint. To be fair, up until now, I’d never used either and any knowledge I’ve garnered over the months (or and Bumble in 2014) comes largely from friends and, of course, the Internet (, that means you). I consider myself more of a traditional when it comes to dating, and if I’m being completely honest, I’m a sucker for movie meet-cutes, which means swiping right just doesn’t do it for me.
That said, I recently found myself trying way too hard to craft a witty but appealing bio for my Bumble profile. Hypocritical? Maybe, but it’s not what you think. Bumble lured me in, not because of my interests in finding cute guys within a five-mile radius who are DTF, but because I’m in desperate need of a BFF.
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Before I go on, let me just say that at 24-years-old, I find myself really interested in the science of adult friendships and more specifically, adult female friendships. I think it’s largely due to the fact that I’m now about two years post-undergrad, which means that my college friend group has started to dwindle – some have moved away for jobs, others for marriage, or an enviable few have sold all their shit to travel the world and plague my Instagram feed with beach acro-yoga photos framed perfectly by turquoise-colored seas and captioned #livingmybestlife.
I Tried Bumble BFF & Here’s What Happened
I’ve spent much of my time over the last month and a half scouring the Internet for other people who feel like I do – like it’s really hard to make friends as a twenty-something year old adult. I read articles like this and this, and then this that delivered the most horrific news of them all – statistically, the age at which you’re most popular or have the most friends is 25.
Naturally, I panicked. Because I can count maybe two or three close friends in my life other than my SO, and these are mostly long-distance friendships. Sure, we have our members-only group chats and we see each other for special occasions like weddings, birthdays and sometimes even work trips. But it’s not the same as being able to binge-watch all six seasons of Pretty Little Liars with them in preparation for the Season 7 premiere or heading to a Saturday morning yoga class followed by a well-deserved brunch with bottomless mimosas (I am a huge brunch-enthusiast!).
I’d seen the sponsored posts on Instagram and, although I was hesitant to admit it, I thought it was a brilliant idea. Honestly, I’m bummed I didn’t think about it sooner. But even if I did, I probably wouldn’t have acted on it for the same reason it took me so long to download Bumble BFF – the embarrassment of not being able to make friends without an app. Let’s call it social shame, I guess. Seriously, there are seven billion people on this planet and I can’t find a single one that wants to put on some Lululemon yoga pants and take a cardio barre class with me? “Surely, I must be doing something wrong,” I thought.
Having absolutely no experience in the world that is social media dating, creating my Bumble profile was the hardest part. Seriously, what do I say on there? What pictures do I include? There are tons of articles that go into excruciating detail of the dos and don’ts of dating profiles, but not so Monsanto women many for finding a BFF. So here’s what I wound up with (#dontjudgeme): “Love the beach, outdoor adventures, brunch and road trips