I feel no enthusiasm on dating apps
Looking for some empathy and understanding here.
I am straight, early thirties, chronically single. I guess for me, being in a long-term relationship/married was never an end goal. It was more of who I met in life with whom I could envision spending the rest of my life with.
I don't get attracted that easily to guys and this has been a reason I've been called "weird" and laughed at by friends, peers who felt like my lack of excitement is "odd". To me, a conventionally attractive person or a good career isn't enough to feel "excited". Of the few guys I've ever liked, it happened after a while of seeing them for who they are: kindness, empathy and understanding are qualities that stand out to me, but it's hard to gauge these traits at surface level and easier to do so when you know somebody outside of a romantic context. That's why I hoped if I found a romantic partner, it would be organically, but now that I'm not in school and don't have a built-in community, apps are the only medium I have where I can talk to prospects.
I have been on/off apps for years. To be honest, I am not excited when I am on them. When I look at pictures/profiles, there isn't this "giddy with joy" feeling. I'm just like ok whatever lol. I've worked hard to shift my mindset with apps and realize that people are not their 2-dimensional profiles, so unless something is a dealbreaker, don't write off things too quickly. But getting matched, ghosted, dealing with guys who lack basic conversational skills or who don't seem invested in my personally or dealing with guys on the opposite end who seem clingy in a way that doesn't feel they like me authentically but just want to be not single anymore. I haven't been on apps for 8 months, just focusing more on potentially buying a place of my own, my career, a major fitness goal, other hobbies, decompressing. I feel like when I'm completely off apps, there's this lingering question if maybe there could be a good potential out there and I won't even know if I choose to be completely off the apps. And a few friends have mentioned dating/even having success, so I thought to give it a try again.
I went back and am using Hinge at the moment (only used it sparingly once before) and I don't know if I have the emotional capacity for this. In my likes section, a guy just liked my pic and commented "we should get married! our kids would have a diverse and interesting background". It's like what, dude. You haven't even spoken one word to me, don't even know who I am and are jumping to marriage. I have been using apps sporadically since 2018 and safe to say, I never enjoyed them but have no idea what else to do in terms of modern day dating for a long-term serious relationship. Wondering if anybody else can relate