Dating apps are a known source of addiction.

On any given day, like clockwork, a large contingent of patrons constantly stop whatever they are doing to get on their smartphones, on a mission to check their dating app activity.

Just like social media, there is that steady perception that you are missing out if you aren’t constantly checking in every so often throughout your day.

With this much attention paid to the virtual world, it isn’t a shocker that many people on dating apps get addicted to it.

They are so used to the virtual exchange, they are unsure of how to stop, even when they have met someone that they really like.

The whole objective of their reasoning behind signing up on the dating app, gets lost in the morass of dating options that the dating app persists in sending them each day.

Though they have been out on a good number of great dates with a person with great romantic prospects, they get distracted by the dating app.

Instead of putting in more effort into this new person and the romantic potential, their energy is divided.

Too much of it fixated on who the dating app is going to match them with next and how amazing the person is going to be.

You see, the addiction is twofold.

Firstly, before many people meet a great dating prospect, they are addicted to constantly logging into the dating app in fear of missing out on someone amazing.

This causes them to lose out on dating prospects that are right in front of them in the real world.

There was a guy or girl staring at them on a commuter train that morning as everyone was headed to work, but this person was distracted by their phone, swiping left and right on a dating app.

Right there, they missed out on a guy or girl who had romantic interest in them in the real world, but they were unaware of it because they were obsessed with swiping.

Secondly, when they do meet that amazing romantic prospect on the dating app and go out on a number of great dates with them, they still can’t keep themselves from repeatedly logging back into it in the hopes of meeting someone new that is more amazing.

This addictive behavior where they believe that they have to keep logging into their dating app to receive a better match keeps them stuck in an endless loop.

They lose out on the person they had already met who was amazing, as that person wisely moves on, having observed that they weren’t being prioritized.

And as for the next match that they believe is destined to be more amazing than the last, nothing comes of it but a few message exchanges and cancelled dates.

You have to avoid these two extremes to keep yourself from getting addicted to online dating.

This requires that you prioritize your life in the real world over your life in the virtual world.

Don’t fall asleep on your day to day life in the real world.

Make it nonnegotiable that you arrange and participate in regular activities in your daily life outside of work.

Make your life full.

Activities like working out at the gym, going out with friends, traveling, playing sports, volunteering, walking your dog, should not be substituted or interrupted by a dating app.

When you are involved in activities, apply your full attention and energy on each one.

This disciplines your body and mind, allowing it to compartmentalize.

With this constant discipline, you adapt to a lifestyle where various real world activities are given the attention and respect they deserve.

Allocate a limited time frame during your day where you log into your dating app.

The best time to do it is when the dating app is the busiest.

Most people on dating apps are actively using them in the evenings, between 6pm and 10pm.

During this period, choose an allocated amount of time, no more than an hour, to log into your dating app and socialize.

As long as you actively work to keep your real life distinct, accepting that it mustn’t be structured around a dating app, but rather, be complimented by it, you won’t get addicted to dating apps.