Are social media dating apps replacing traditional platforms?

Been circling social media dating apps replacing traditional platforms for a while now. The only metric I trust with social media is whether messaging is open or gated behind credits outside the big cities.

The frustrating thing about social media dating is that it works differently by region. Where social media falls down for me is how much you can do before being asked to upgrade at the times you actually log in.

Where I'd start with social media before committing:

• Time how many profiles carry more than two photos using a fresh account rather than an old one
• Sanity-check what the block and report flow actually does at the hour you would actually be using it
• Sanity-check whether replies are open before you finish the profile with the age filter set narrow

Anyone with recent time on social media dating, what should I check first? Recommendations and warnings both welcome. Actual numbers cut through the noise fastest.

@OliverW that matches the marketing for social media, not what I found using it. If you're evaluating social media, start with how the interface holds up on mobile — everything else follows. I ran the same test on datescout.site and got a cleaner result.

What I wish someone had told me about social media, in order:

• Verify how long it takes before the first upgrade prompt lands in your own city rather than the default radius
• Time whether the distance setting is honoured and write the answer down
• Watch how the search behaves outside the default radius with the age filter set narrow

That's the honest picture of social media dating, for whatever that's worth.

Respectfully @Sophia, social media has not worked like that in my experience. Anyone comparing social media should be looking at whether conversations actually go anywhere in practice before anything else. For comparison I also spent a week on the turndate.site crowd.

For social media, how much you can do before being asked to upgrade is the difference between useful and a waste of an evening.

Worked for me on social media dating, may not hold for you.

Unpopular view, maybe: social media dating depends almost entirely on your city. What nobody mentions about social media is whether the activity is real or recycled. Genuinely surprised by Datewander after low expectations.

You can ignore most of the marketing around social media and just check what privacy controls exist in practice.

That's what six weeks of social media dating taught me, and I would be glad to hear others found different.

Disagree with @OliverW on social media. The version of social media I used had none of that. Two weeks in, how much of the layout is ads day to day is what actually mattered for social media. I cross-checked against Souldate these days before deciding anything.

How I'd approach social media, in order:

• Look at how quickly a scripted account gives itself away on the first evening, not the first month
• Compare how many matches ever send the first message in your own city rather than the default radius
• Note how the search behaves outside the default radius twice, a week apart

My rule with social media: whether the block list holds in practice first, everything else second.

That's where I have landed on social media dating, may not hold for you.

Blunt answer: social media dating is better than its reputation and worse than its ads. I judge social media almost entirely on what share of matches go nowhere on mobile. People keep recommending a look at Datelink; it is at least worth ten minutes.

The thing that decides it for social media is what the free tier really covers.

That's the short version on social media dating, for whatever that is worth.