‘The longest relationship of my life’: 10 years of dating through my phone

‘The idea of matching, messaging, then meeting in person can seem grueling and likely low reward; it’s easier to just swipe left.’ Illustration: Jinhwa Jang/The Guardian

In the antipodean winter of 2013, I was at a boozy dinner at a Malaysian restaurant with friends when one pulled out her phone to show us a new app she’d just downloaded. She was the youngest at the table, and an early adopter. She talked us through Tinder, flipping through the profiles of single men in our area.

We were fascinated, and a bit horrified. But there are so many of them, I remember thinking.