Dating apps. A sometimes miserable, sometimes rewarding reality of life these days. And if you are going to use your finest military service photos, you might expect something like the following exchange:
“Just ask, I’m an open book :),” reads the prompt from Nicholas, a Marine and user of the dating app Hinge.
“How many people have u killed?”
“That’s a fucked up thing to ask.”
“My bad.”
“But 3.”
Well then.
In the profile on Hinge, the young Marine named Nicholas is seen posing with an M32A1 grenade launcher, in a photograph reportedly taken in Saudi Arabia.
After the tweet started to gain some attention, the Marine clarified his response, noting that, “I mean she did ask after I just got back from the Afghanistan evacuation. But I was joking about the bodies.”
All is fair in love and war.
Service members are certainly no strangers to shenanigans in the online dating world. Some choose to really lean into it, and highlight both their ownership of Marine Corps uniforms and savvy with PowerPoint. If one wants to cut directly to the chase, there are dating sites catering specifically to those looking to start a military romance. It’s also been an arena ripe for scams, as one Army officer discovered when his photos were used in a slew of dating app scams, with anonymous users pretending to be deployed service members online.
And while the question posed can be fodder for dating app amusement, it can also be one fraught with difficulty for many veterans, even if the answer is “no” for the vast majority.
As for the prospects on Hinge, Task & Purpose has described it as, “a happy medium between “tequila shots?” and “hello, stranger, will you marry me?”
The Marine described his Hinge match as being “cute but she was kind of mean,” reiterating the point with a crying-face emoji. This publication will continue to monitor for future updates.
In the meantime, it’s important to stay safe and always be responsible in your dating practices. As the Military Health System has linked the use of dating apps to an increase in sexually transmitted diseases in service members. Stay frosty out there.
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