Free dating apps like Tinder, Plenty of Fish, and OkCupid, make connecting with new people as quick and as easy as swiping left or right on a mobile device.

More and more people are choosing to scroll through a feed of seemingly endless users, selected based on the user’s preferences, instead of going out to a coffee shop or a library to meet new people.

And many Bucks students have experienced this digital social realm and find it suits their modern lifestyle.

“I feel like young adults find it more convenient; they don’t have to go out looking for people they can go online and eventually go on dates. It’s open to all appropriate ages,” said Kim Delarosa, 20, business administration from Levittown.

“People use the apps for different reasons; you can use it to find someone else who wants to hook up: a friend, boyfriend, and husbands. It’s all about the user, that’s the beauty of it,” said Dean Diaswara, 21, tourism hospitality from Hatboro.

However, some students believe such dating apps do not lead to meaningful connections, characterizing them as superficial.

“When it comes to Tinder, you’re not looking for a relationship, you’re looking for physical interaction, as opposed to any emotional attachments,” said Carlos Rivera, 20, engineering major from Warminster.

Zach Stratton, 19, English major from Holland, believes that these apps are suited for entertainment purposes, but they are, “…not a traditional way of dating someone and what they put on their fake bio is not who they really are. What they put online is an idea of who they are.”

Other students around campus had a negative opinion of online dating sites as well, concerned that these sites are eroding our ability to communicate, our ability to spark real feelings of romance and intimacy.

“Personally I think there is no hope for our generation if the only way we know how to meet people is through an app that takes away normal human interaction,” said Michaela Rodgers, 19, psychology major from Northampton.

“Dating app are ruining what humans have been building for generations which is a sincere way of communication,” said Valerie Kartashova, 22, physical therapy from Jamison.

“Being a female, it is definitely flattering to receive messages from men commenting on your beauty but at the end of the day . . . I would not promote these ways of communication because I can barely call it communication.”

Many of the arguments against these dating sites mirror similar arguments leveled at social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.

Yet, it cannot be denied Social media is changing the way we communicate. Apps like Snapchat and Instagram have caught fire in recent years, eliminating the need for the “you had to be there” expression.

Some see social dating apps as the natural progression.

“Since everything is connected now it’s more of a natural thing, easier way to speak to someone that we wouldn’t get a chance to,” Abby Riley, 19, Bucks student from Newtown.

“I think people should try it out, it’s a different experience and it actually works some people; you just never know,” said Taylor Streeper, 20, nursing major from Chalfont.

For Delarosa, putting herself out there on Plenty of Fish has influenced her life positively and opened it up to a relationship she wouldn’t have found here in Bucks.

“I don’t regret joining because now I have a boyfriend; we’re happy, six months going strong. He lives in New Jersey and occasionally the distance makes it hard. It’s awesome because it wasn’t supposed to be a relationship, it turned into one,” said Delarosa.