Here's What Chinese Students In The U.S. Think Of Tinder

By Coco Zhang

For Chinese freshmen arriving on American college campuses, socializing in the U.S. of A can be downright terrifying. Many "Made In China" kids like myself look on wide-eyed and more than a little scared as our American classmates go nuts, drinking themselves silly and partying like their lives depended on it.

That same trepidation extends to the bedrock of millennial dating culture: Tinder.

There aren't that many Chinese students on Tinder, but observation tells me there are more boys than girls -- roughly a 70-30 split. This probably has roots in conservative Chinese culture, but also in the fact that many Chinese kids have no idea what it's used for.

I was talking with a friend of mine the other day when he mentioned discovering Tinder.

"I just downloaded this new app for practicing English," he told me. "It's a good way to find some Americans to talk to, but the problem is nobody seems to want to chat..."

Another friend of mine told me the only conversation she'd ever had with a Tinder match was with a guy from her class.

"Hey, what was the assignment from class today?" she asked. "I can't find it."

And just like that, this poor guy walked her through the assignment, right there on Tinder.

That's not to say all Chinese students on Tinder are complete noobs. I once saw a guy in the dining hall, eating with one hand and furiously swiping at his phone screen with the other. I thought he was just another Angry Birds addict, but no, it was Tinder. When I asked to take a look he showed me his full list: 157 matches.

Some Chinese girls choose to use Tinder on the sly because they don't want to put up with the comments: "So you're only into white people?" "Are you that desperate to get a green card?" "I never would've guessed Chinese girls can be that loose. Looks like American culture has infected you..."

In these Chinese social circles, a girl on Tinder might as well stick a scarlet letter on her chest. They don't have the courage to just come out and say "So what if I want to get some? You got a problem with that?"

Are they wrong for using Tinder? Not at all -- it's a personal choice, after all. But life is hard, and you're constantly under the scrutiny of your peers.

The next question for lots of Chinese students is whether Chinese people are popular on Tinder. "If I sign up, am I going to be rolling in the sheets with the beautiful boys and girls on campus?"

Sadly, when faced with a Chinese student, most people swipe left.

Tinder reflects certain American standards of beauty, and not that many people go for Asians on Tinder. Oftentimes, those who swipe right on us are just in it for the novelty. The people racking up the matches on Tinder are still those rich kids wearing boat shoes, khakis and tropical shirts, carrying around Daddy's credit card and their fake IDs. Or it's the girls who skip class to go tanning, don't wear bras to class and drop "OMG's" in every sentence.

Yeah, it's shallow, but Tinder doesn't care about your personality. The fact is, most of us Chinese students on Tinder are on the outside, watching from afar as Americans light that kindling and turn it into a bonfire.

This blog post was translated and edited for clarity. See the original post here.