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Branch out with Willow, the ‘Anti-Tinder’

These days, interacting with others has become more of a game, as it appears that many would rather spend time fishing for likes, retweets and “swipe rights” than sit across from someone else and make small talk.

Willow, a dating app that was released to the masses Feb. 10, aims to reverse this trend by “putting the ‘social’ back in social media.” It’s kind of like a bizarro version of Tinder, as users are unable to see any pictures or profile information of others until they begin a conversation with them.

Conversations are started by asking and answering questions, ranging from silly to serious, that are posted on a message board comprised of other queries within your area. However, it takes more than just starting the conversation to gain more information about another party. You must also actively maintain an engaging discussion with each other, as doing so will eventually reveal more profile info as time goes by.

It’s an interesting approach to social networking in a society that tends to base first impressions of others on appearance instead of personality, but I can’t help but remain slightly skeptical about the way people will utilize it.

With social media, we’re given the opportunity to change various aspects about ourselves that may seem undesirable to others. While it’s commendable that Willow wants to promote engaging interaction among users, how much of that interaction is actually genuine?

No one types and sends messages without putting a little thought or careful editing into them first, so it wouldn’t surprise me if many of the smooth talkers and verbose intellectuals on the app are more prone to spit game like Porky Pig in the real world.

Plus, there’s always the select few that frequently take creative liberties with their own lives in order to appear more exciting than the next guy or gal (Like saying you’ve been to Paris, France when really it was Paris, Illinois).

Despite those common flaws mired within social media, Willow still manages to put a fresh spin on an oft-imitated means of communication. Give it a try if you’re looking for love or someone new to talk to about the weather, but keep in mind that nothing will ever replace the sometimes awkward but always educational experiences that face-to-face conversation will give you.

Willow is currently available for download on the App Store.

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