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#TinderTales

Why is Tinder in Manila so tragic?


[Ed's note: #TinderTales is a weekly column that attempts to look at online dating. This week's tale has our Tinderella wondering about the Tinder scene in Metro Manila. Have a story to share? Email us at submissions@gmanews.tv]

I started out as a hopeful swiper in Manila. Despite my being picky, I was positive that I would meet a Pinoy whose profile was nice enough for me to swipe right.

Soon enough however, my problem surfaced: (1) I was either too picky or (2) The Manila Tinder scene...there wasn’t a Manila Tinder scene to speak of.

It’s happened more than once that my swiping session was cut short. Why? Because the app is still “finding people near me.”

When I’m in BGC or Makati, it’s mostly foreigners, expats who slightly liven up the so-called scene.

When I go to places like Quezon City, Pasig, or San Juan, the drought turns to famine.

Sans my picky preferences, the chances for lighting matches here can be slim to none compared to places abroad.

In Barcelona for example, I’ve literally experienced a match for every right swipe. It came to the point where I had to stop swiping because it slowed my phone down and brained my battery. Barcelona felt like Tinder wonderland, like a buffet of attractive men eager to take me to dinner and do what they can do woo and get me to bed. Every Pedro, Xavi and Sergio I swiped right on gave me the impression that they were out to get me (or any other woman on the app for that matter).

In the Spanish city, I saw just how fun the app could be. I wasn’t interested in anyone in particular, but it was great to see all those options. I found myself experiencing the dating scene like never before. I was pursued by not one, but several men! I cast my net and caught more fish than I have ever had! 

And then I came home and reality bit, and it bit me hard. I don’t know, but it became clear that I have trouble understanding Filipino men. I feel like they’re a niche all on their own.


In all the places in the world that I’ve swiped, the only country where men include their family photos is in the country I call home.  I’m not just talking about photos of them with their siblings and parents. I’m talking about family photos at their youngest daughter’s baptism, photos with their wife and kids by the Christmas tree, photos with the lolos and the lolas at a reunion.

Dear Pinoys: WHY??

There are some that find it important to show that they have lots of friends, so they put their liga sa basketball team photo. Are they trying to say that they're fit and healthy? Or that they're popular? Do they want me to guess where they are in the photo or do they want to prove that they are the most handsome among their friends? I don't know.

But I do know that basketball jerseys and puruntong shorts aren’t all that attractive. 

And then, there are those that believe they are celebrities. I’ve come across profiles like Jayson, 37, who put Kobe Bryant’s picture on his photos. If it’s not Kobe, it’s Tom Cruise, or Alden Richards, or Ruru Madrid.

And another subset of Pinoys on Tinder: Those who like using ugly MS Paint doodles (and the like) combined with spammy slapstick photos clearly nicked off the Internet, and nothing else.

Please, do tell: How can I take those profiles seriously?

There are many things I don’t understand about men, let alone the logic and humor of Filipino men when it comes to online dating! I can still hope to end up with a Filipino one day. — LA, GMA News

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