Tired of Tinder? Maybe it’s time to get specific

“So how did you guys meet?”

“Oh, just this bacon dating app, we both like it crispy.”

Thanks to current technological advances, there has been a rapid expansion of new ways to meet people. Even so, many singles are still having trouble finding ‘the one’, falling short in real life and on mainstream dating apps like Tinder. Many of these unlucky lovers have turned to niche dating apps to find potential partners with more in common, and it seems no matter how weird and wonderful your interests, chances are there’s a dating app for it! From hilarious to morbid to just plain offensive, check out some of the 7 weirdest niche dating apps available.

SPOONR
Claiming to be the largest social network for cuddlers with over 300,000 members, Spoonr is also one of the most adorable apps on the niche dating scene. This app finds other cuddlers in the nearby area, all you have to do is simply send a cuddle request to begin chatting or share your location and the app will provide you walking directions to go collect your hug.

GLUTEN FREE SINGLES
Whether a celiac or just a regular pain in the ass, Gluten Free Singles cater for you nonetheless. A lifestyle constraint such as this creates a lot of everyday difficulties, so who wouldn’t want someone non-judgemental who can commiserate. Goodbye awkward “I’m sorry but there is nothing I can eat on this menu” first date moments.

WINGMAN
This app caused lots of controversy when first announced. Wingman’s basic goal is to make flying suck less, something we’re all for. So why not kill a few hours and do some dating. At least if it doesn’t work out, it’s not like you had anything better to do.

PLAY DATE
While not available in Australia yet, play date is a great app for dog lovers to set up play dates with other dogs, and their owners ;).

FARMERS ONLY
Who needs The Farmer Wants a Wife when you’ve got Farmers Only. Boasting over 2 million members and featuring the tagline “city folks just don’t get it” it seems to have worked for hundreds of couples and is totally worth mentioning for these photos of Nicole Richie & Paris Hilton circa 2006.

RAYA
You’ll find no riff raff or bogans here, although not to exclude the prominent rapper Riff-Raff, as his celebrity status would ensure entry to one of the world’s most exclusive apps for creatives, influencers, celebrities and the elite. Raya is similar to Tinder, although you’re only allowed to access the app after submitting an application along with your Instagram profile. If you’re not hot, rich, famous and have thousands of followers, good luck getting in. This app is full of C-list celebrities, insiders of the entertainment industry as well as business and creative elites. Rumoured members are Patrick Schwarzenegger, Ruby Rose, Raven Symone, Trevor Noah and Kelly Osbourne.

DEAD MEET
The app for those who don’t want to shock your partner with the horrors of your day at the dinner table, Dead Meet might just be for you! Specially formed by and for members of the death industry. Taxidermists, funeral directors and embalmers now have a place to meet people with similar careers in the least creepy way possible.

These 7 apps have only scratched the surface of the world of micro Tinders, honourable mentions go to Mouse Mingle, a dating app for Disney fans, Hot For Ginger, because even gingers deserve to be loved and Bristlr for those who like their men bearded. Religious based dating apps are also gaining traction such as Jswipe (Jewish), Crosspaths (Christian) and Crescent (Muslim).

The fundamental problem with modern Western coupling is the ideal that romantic love culminates in a heterosexual marriage that will last forever. It seems often that were taught by Movies, Marketing and family that finding love and finding happiness are one in the same, that our life can’t be complete without a partner. Australia’s couple normative society puts incredible pressure on singles to find ‘the one’. Although when many predominately young singles turn to online or app based dating, it’s often viewed as sad and desperate, because god forbid a person is content alone, that’s just unthinkable right? So maybe it’s time that marketing, movies, our parents and this couple normative culture realise that for some of us, there’s more to life than romantic love.

So are these apps a godsend or hindrance when it comes to finding a romantic partner. Well, there’s an argument for both. If you’re not commonly out at bars, clubs, university or other places to stumble upon love, it can be hard to meet potential partners. On one side, dating apps provide greater accessibility to a pool of potential partners, especially for those shy to approach and initiate conversations in person.

The negatives as suggested in articles by the ABC and The Conversation argue dating app users are given too much choice, knowing the next potential partner is just one click away sending the user into a “locomotion” mindset. Making “yes or no” snap judgments of others with highly edited information often leads to extremely high expectations when meeting in person as well as an over-emphasis on appearance.

Contrastingly, an article in The Conversation suggest that intellectual attraction would provide a deeper and more durable foundation for relationships than sex appeal. Although purely sex appeal works just fine for many users who aren’t looking for long term love, many mainstream dating apps such as tinder are viewed as “hook-up” based.

So do niche dating apps provide a medium for singles more serious in finding long term love through common interests? This seems to be the case in many situations. Examples such as Farmers Only and Gluten Free Singles, represent major lifestyle factors which may be critical to the success of a long term relationship with a partner, whereas apps such as salad mate or Sizzl for bacon lovers are often used as a novelty and created for marketing purposes.

With many corporations getting in on the niche dating action, it’s quickly turning into a marketing trend. Sizzl is a dating app purely for bacon lovers, with how you like your bacon factored into the matching algorithm. This App is created by Oscar Mayer, one of the biggest meat and cold cut producers in the USA, and if their job is to get people excited and talking about bacon, it’s working. This innovative marketing strategy is catching on with more niche apps introduced by business’s for example Salad Match, bringing together salad lovers everywhere while being “Brought to you by Just Salad”.

Whether a marketing ploy or just a fun way to start a conversation, if Tinder isn’t cutting it why not get specific, everyone else is.