A right swipe here and a left swipe there.

It’s just like browsing through a retail catalog. 

And just like retail, our options are almost unlimited. From a one to a ten on the so-called “hotness” scale, you will find just about every kind of person on Tinder. My absolute favorites are people dressed in camouflage posing with deer or fish, as if the carcass of a dead animal is going to add charm or attract people. 

Tinder has brought upon our generation what I call a “dating apocalypse.” 

“Won’t swipe right if you are under 6 feet” and “don’t message me if you are over 140 pounds” are the type of messages extremely common on Tinder and are indicative of a major problem with our generation.

We are a shallow, lustful, discriminating, entitled and despicable group of people. 

Now, I’m not a liberal “Social Justice Warrior” who sits behind his keyboard typing up these articles while everyone else is “getting laid.” But as someone who has traveled extensively throughout the world and experienced life for a little over two decades, I think our generation’s dating practices throughout the world are abhorrent. 

We are no longer looking for the “one.” Instead, we are looking for the one for Friday night. 

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think there is anything wrong with casual sex as long as it is between two consenting adults. And if you are using Tinder for that reason, that’s your choice.

What bothers me is the fact that on Tinder most people are extremely shallow and disrespectful. 

If someone’s weight bothers you, don’t message them and say negative things. If someone’s color, height or anything about them bothers you, just move on. There is absolutely no need to ridicule that person. Time and time again, I have heard horror stories from my friends complaining about how terrible their Tinder dates went. One of my friends was told that she “looked skinnier in her pictures,” and another friend’s Tinder date was found swiping on Tinder as he was trying to make conversation with her. 

We need to bring old-fashioned dating back. Not the sexist kind but the kind where people had respect for each other. 

The kind of dating where people were not as shallow as people today. 

We, Millennials, are the most educated generation ever. We are exposed to more information and diversity than any generation before us. So let’s not use our technology to contribute to the already rampant anti-intellectualism in our society. Please don’t let mindless reality TV or photoshopped models tell you what beauty is supposed to be. Recognize that there is innate beauty in all of us which is unique for every individual.

I want to invite fellow Jackrabbits to look beyond superficial traits that are so shamelessly promoted on apps like Tinder and learn to respect people for who they are. 

We are not options on which you can swipe left or right. We are human beings, each filled with the potential and ability to change the world.

Abdel Mo is an operations management major at SDSU and can be reached at [email protected].