My new theory about online dating is that we're doing it all wrong. Have you ever considered trying to meet someone on an app that isn't even for dating? I didn't think so. No one is bringing any imagination to the whole thing, and without imagination, we have nothing. (A recent mantra I created for my best friend in regard to her ex: "He has no imagination!" He doesn't. And it's the ultimate diss.) Instead of logging on to Hinge or Hitch or Bumble or another dating app, looking at the same tired singles over and over, I think we need to step away from the dating apps. But I'm not suggesting that the only place fair game for meeting someone new is IRL, though I am a huge proponent of the real world. I just think that traditional dating sites are not always the way to go. Perhaps other means of online connection are the answer. I mean, have you seen the bunnies on TaskRabbit?! Meow.
In fact, a bunch of the top-rated dating apps right now aren't solely for dating — they're social networks and social game sites.
And, a little app called QuizUp seems to be a method for finding lasting love. The "social trivia app" (and soon-to-be TV show) pairs people from all over the world to play games against each other, with a chat feature. And at least two couples have met on the platform.
How They Met
Rebecca and Jordan were randomly matched against each other to be quizzed about, of all things, aviation trivia. The Brits struck up a conversation on the app, found out that they are both student pilots, arranged to meet — and have been going steady for almost a year.
Sébastien, who lives in France, joined QuizUp to practice his German. He started playing versus Jean-Guillaume, a Parisian who also agreed to tutor him. (We all know that "tutoring" is just another way to say "Netflix and chill." I jest, I jest.) Though they met as friends first, they fell in love — and plan to move in together soon.
Rebecca's Story
I'm from West Yorkshire in England, and he's from near Glasgow in Scotland. Basically, we share a great love of aviation and both want to become pilots. We were brought together by QuizUp one day when we were randomly matched to play against each other in the aviation topic. He won the first round, so I asked for a rematch, which I won.
From what he told me recently, he managed to get some courage and actually message me (I have screenshots of the first messages). The first question was obviously about our common interest, and we just hit it off from there. We met up for the first time a month and a half later. I already knew how much I liked him, but when I met him, I just fell in love. Since then, I've been up to Scotland to visit and he's come down to England too. Although we don't get to see each other all the time, we make it work and appreciate every second we have together.
Jordan's Story
I was on holiday … and was looking through my phone for something to do whilst waiting in the lobby. I realized I had QuizUp installed and since I hadn’t played in a while, I thought I’d have a few games playing my favorite category, which is aviation. I’ve always had an enormous interest in aviation ever since I was a child, and my dream career is to become a commercial pilot.
The first game I played, I was matched against Rebecca. After we played each other and had a rematch, I plucked up the courage to message her and we instantly clicked. We have both came to the conclusion that we are basically the same person and that we are soulmates. We both have the same dream career, the same interests, literally anything you can think of, we match. I feel incredibly lucky to have met Rebecca on a quiz game that I could have easily not played in the first place, and which we had to search at exactly the same time. Even though we live far apart, we see each other whenever we can and our relationship has made us the happiest we have ever been.
Sébastien's Story
I started playing QuizUp in July 2015. At the time, I worked in a restaurant for the summer, so I was playing really late at night. I left Germany in October 2015, and I was looking for a German player to be able to practice speaking the language with. Jean-Guillaume [left, in the photo above] and I found each other in August because he had put "Germany" in his location (his parents are there, but he lives in Paris). We started playing, and soon started chatting very late at night — sometimes from 3 a.m. to 12 p.m.
He made me laugh, and we had incredible conversation. Even though I was not looking for love, I was so attached to him, and I needed to talk to him every night after work. During gameplay, we decided to share our phone numbers and soon spent many nights together on the phone — his voice is so beautiful! I began to slowly fall for him and one day felt chills in my body, and then realized that I actually loved him. We met IRL on September 9, 2015, and kissed immediately, naturally. My heart was beating so fast. Today we are still together, I saw him in Nantes and in Paris, and despite the distance, our love persists and I am very happy — we even plan to move in together soon!!
I had never dated men, because before Jean-Guillaume, I didn't know that I could love a man. He is the first person who seriously came in my world and shook it. I realized that I was falling in love with Jean-Guillaume because I was always thinking of him. I felt a new sensation in my body and had million butterflies in my stomach whenever we chatted on QuizUp or spoke on the phone. Everything was so easy when we talked all night, it was so effortless — I didn't recognize myself. I can for the first time think of myself with someone longterm.
Jean-Guillaume's Story
When Sébastien initially reached out to me through the German topics category on QuizUp, I thought he was just going to be another Internet friend of mine. At the time, I was on vacation in Marseille with friends, and I didn’t have much time to chat and fool around with the game. I decided to reply to him, though, and immediately found him really good-looking and smart. I knew it was different immediately. I loved talking to him, even if he finished work super late at night. In fact, thinking of speaking with him every night gave me the power to make it through a long day.
Since August 6 (our first discussion), we’ve never spent a day without talking. I'm hooked, and I'm falling in love without even realizing it. In August, after my time in Marseille, I left for Italy for ten days. While away I began to feel that I loved him, and even noticed the butterflies in my stomach (and my addiction to our calls). When I returned, I was eager to go meet him — I took the train and a three-hour drive. Upon arriving, I immediately noticed his beautiful smile. I knew it was the right when I kissed him. Today, I study law in Paris, and we will continue our long-distance relationship until I move to Nantes to be with him next year.
QuizUp Is Sort Of Like Tinder
The app is akin to a "gamified Tinder," says QuizUp's PR representative Carey Waggoner. "Instead of swiping, you're playing Trivial Pursuit with someone in the most niche categories (ahem, mirroring your actual shared interests)." Indeed, says CEO Thor Fridriksson: "Connections made on QuizUp … are no surprise to me … when engaged in friendly competition across a myriad of topics, what else could we expect than for two people to find each other and grow a deep connection out of their most personal and niche shared interests?" Sounds way more fun than Tinder to me.
Want more of Bustle's Sex and Relationships coverage? Check out our new podcast, I Want It That Way, which delves into the difficult and downright dirty parts of a relationship, and find more on our Soundcloud page.
Images: Courtesy of QuizUp (8)
