Using Tinder in Yellowknife is daunting for daters

Jacq Brass has used Tinder in Yellowknife and in bigger cities, and she says the differences in her hometown, compared to larger cities, are clear.

"It's mostly just everybody that I went to high school with all on the internet together," she says, laughing. "I'm going to swipe right on you, drunkenly send you a Tinder message and I'm going to see you in a board room tomorrow."

Tinder is a dating app that allows a person to set out who and what they're looking for and find compatible matches in their city.

It then gives you the option to swipe left or right on a person: left means you're not interested, right means you are.

In big cities, the possibilities seem endless. A person could find hundreds of matches within a five-kilometre radius. But in Yellowknife, a city of about 20,000 people, where everyone seems to know everyone, the dating app can be daunting.

"People are less forward because there's a chance that you're seeing your ex-roommate's sister or something," Brass says.

Liz Fox agrees. "I say Yellowknife is where dating comes to die," she said via the app.

But Brass says even swiping right on someone she knows can turn out for the best.

"Tinder isn't about meeting people, but rather meeting people you've already met to see if they want to date you." 

She says Tinder is also one of the few dating services that allows you to select that you're interested in both men and women.

"A big part of why I use Tinder is to meet other queer women," Brass says.

Sexual harassment 'a reality for a woman on the internet'

Brass says there are some negatives to dating services like Tinder, such as the barrage of sexual harassment both men and women face.

"I've had friends that were sexually harassed on Tinder, but I just think that's a reality for a woman on the internet," she says.

Fox echoes that, saying harassment is everywhere online and Tinder is only part of the larger picture.

Speaking from behind a keyboard, users have a feeling of anonymity and Brass says things can quickly go downhill with name calling and abusive messages.

"If you're a woman on the internet and you don't laugh at [all the harassment] ...you'll probably quit," Brass says.

And that's exactly what she does when she gets sick of Tinder.

But even after deleting the app, she always finds herself reinstalling it down the road, saying it's like having a childhood crush — the adrenaline keeps her logged on and swiping right.