If, like us, you grew up taking relationship advice from Carrie and co in Sex and the City then it's likely that you've got its creator Candace Bushnell to thank (or blame) for your past dating experiences.
But following the breakdown of her marriage to Charles Askegard, which ended in 2012, the 60-year-old finally dipped her toe in the world of modern dating with a stint on Tinder as part of research for her new book, Is There Still Sex In The City? and it went just as you'd expect.
"What was interesting about Tinder was [that] everyone was on it, but nobody seemed to like it," she told Vanity fair in an interview earlier this week (Tuesday, 6th August). "Is that how dominant technology is? Nobody likes it, yet we are obliged to use it?"
Yep, that's exactly it.
However unlike us she didn't split all her hopes and dreams between Hinge, Bumble and the other myriad of dating apps out there, with the interview saying that: "Bushnell did not explore other dating apps as well; that pursuit alone, she said could comprise an entire book."
Bushnell's return to the dating scene was actually encouraged by former Vanity Fair editor Ina Brown, who suggested her friend return to the dating world in her 50s, while one of her friends pushed her into trying Tinder specifically.
"I went through a period where I absolutely did not believe in relationships at all," she said. "I think it's really important to question all of these societal expectations...as a woman we do have to think about where we put our time.
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"You can put a lot of time and energy into a relationship and come out with less."
The internet isn't short of nightmare Tinder stories that have us deleting the app on a monthly basis.
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Remember the case of 20-year-old Thea Chippendale who matched with a potential partner, only for him to start the conversation with: "Not gona lie you're a bit of a joke but that dress in the last photo isn't doing any favours"?
Or how about Kimberley Latham-Hawkesford, 24, from Morecambe who received a charming message three months after a terrible Tinder date which listed 15 recommendations on how she could improve her dates going forward, kicking off with her physical appearance.
"If you lost some weight you would look incredible. Maybe a stone or so," he suggested, as well as: "You are very pale. I know you aren't a fan of the sun but a bit of fake tan wouldn't hurt."
Type #tinder into Twitter and you'll quickly see that we're not alone in our hatred of the app.
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Take, for example, this guy who said: "Honestly Tinder at this point for me is like spicy food, I don't like spicy food and it doesn't like me, yet every time I try it thinking it will be different this time it instantly disagrees with me and leaves me feeling shit the rest of the day."
We know exactly how he feels.
Then again, with bios like "Gym rat. Looking for someone to be creative with. Please don't be fat in real life", who can blame us?
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We also can't deal with any more terrible chat-up lines:
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Or how about those people who just don't reply? You do know the point of the app, right?
Luckily however it's not all grey skies: "One time I matched with a tinder profile someone made for a mozzarella stick. Turns out the guy running it was hilarious and we ended up exchanging numbers.
"It was the oddest, most hilarious thing that's ever happened to me in my life...hands down."
*Re-downloads Tinder immediately*
Topics: Life News, Dating, Real, Tinder
