Most people open a dating app, swipe like thumbs are on auto-pilot, then act shocked that chats go nowhere. The app isn’t cursed, the prep is. Before swiping at all, it helps to decide what you’re actually ok with right now. Short term, longer term, “not sure yet but honest about it”, whatever. Pick it, write it down if brain keeps changing.
Then set 3–5 basic lines you don’t cross. Maybe kids, distance, smoking, politics, age gap, whatever matters in real life. When that stuff is clear first, it’s easier to look at a profile and think “nope, doesn’t fit the list” instead of “eh, maybe it will magically work”. That little bit of pre-game planning stops a lot of weird chats before they even start.
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