Best Online Dating Apps For Black Professionals

On the whole, the process of online dating is a great thing.

Singles dress up their bios with pithy zingers in an attempt to match with other bae-less individuals. Sometimes this pairing leads to an awkward exchange. Or, if both parties skip the coy act, it leads to a pre-first date.

What to say online dating first message examples. Online dating to do the job. Your credit can never be overlooked when paying for your dream date. And you can always share what you have to offer – be it a good job, professional skills, bank balance or kids. Because dating is meant to be fun. What to say online dating first message examples. Online dating to do the job. Your credit can never be overlooked when paying for your dream date. And you can always share what you have to offer – be it a good job, professional skills, bank balance or kids. Because dating is meant to be fun.

As a black woman, however, trying to find love online isn't so simple. I've hit a few road blocks.

You see, it's an established fact that dating for black women is terrible. On dating apps, which were created to increase the chance of finding love, prejudice abounds.

OkCupid data shows that 82 percent of non-black men are prejudice against black women in some form, and I've found that to be true. My non-black friends typically receive right swipes from every Tom, Dick and Harry. Meanwhile, I can only guarantee matches with the Jamals and Akeems of the online dating world.

It's no secret Bumble and the like are largely used by non-black romance-seekers, therefore my chances of finding the one, if I want a black husband, are slim. This trend also makes BlackPeopleMeet, SoulSwipe and BAE (Before Anyone Else), a new dating app specifically made for people of color, absolutely necessary.

Brian Gerrard created BAE in April 2015 (along with his brother Justin and friend Jordan Kunzika) after seeing the racial disparities in digital dating. Scarred from their own letdowns, they wanted to stack the odds in favor of black singles.

Because of a few failed rounds of my own with Plenty of Fish, I'm averse to finding a boo online. Still, I downloaded the app to see if I had a better chance of snagging an eligible suitor.

As I expected, matching was easy.

The 'find a bae' formula? Spot a fine guy and swipe right. Sprawled across my bed, I signed up via my Facebook profile and the app automatically plugged in four profile pics. I don't know how BAE knew to use my super-cute selfies, but I wasn't complaining.

Basic stats like the city I live in, my age and occupation were also automatically filled in. I skipped over the whole 'witty bio' thing, then got back into the groove and browsed through my colorful options.

I was looking for medium brown-skinned cuties who were at least 5-foot-10 and had decent jobs. I'm also a sucker for well-lit photos and a smile. If you can't even find good lighting, a date with me certainly can't save you.

After I swiped on a few fellas I thought would be entertaining, it didn't take long for the match notifications to start rolling in. There were also a few non-people of color profiles, like one from a Channing Tatum lookalike I swiped right on. But, mostly I stuck to swiping right on black men.

Altogether, I racked up 28 matches over two days. Not too shabby.

But, the messages were still awkward.

There I was, poised to reply to 28 matches I'd gotten based on mindless right-swiping.

I wasn't necessarily shocked at the amount of replies, though, because connecting with black men online is truly as simple as the click of a button. The problem boils down to interest beyond superficial physical attraction, like a connection based on chemistry and correctly spelled words.

Most conversations started off as casual small talk, but quickly became banal. The worst of them revealed just how awkward and unfunny men can be toward women they don't know.

Don't get me wrong, some standout guys were pleasantly sweet. But, the fact is, I just don't enjoy inorganic interactions. I prefer reading a person's vibes IRL, striking up an easy exchange over Jameson shots or meeting in the pasta aisle at Whole Foods.

Additionally, men tend to be way more predatory behind the safety of a computer screen, which completely turns me off to digital dating.

Ultimately, I want to find bae offline.

Best Online Dating Apps For Black Professionals 2019

While I love the fact that black women have tailored dating options with this app, it's just not my thing.

Online dating, as an idea, is cool. Even Twitter can double as a dating site if you play your DMs right. But, the cheesy lines about how gorgeous I am and the guy who spelled 'together' as '2gether' reaffirmed my deep disdain for finding a mate online.

If I have to weed out f*ckboy BS, I prefer to do it in person. However, if I ever venture back to the Internet for a date, I'll stick to the kind (like BAE) with less racial bias.

Best Online Dating Apps For Black Professionals 2019

If you are running around from meetings to lunch to conference calls to more meetings, the last thing you have time to squeeze into your busy schedule is swiping through a dating app, much less going on actual dates. But if you are hell-bent on finding someone special, what are the best dating apps for young professionals? Though Tinder, OkCupid, Hitch, Hinge, Bumble and the like are usually my go-to recommendations for dating apps, they hold far too large a cross-section of the general public for the professional subset. If you're working 80-hour weeks and want someone who maintains a similarly breakneck pace, you have to steer clear of the usual suspects, dating app–wise, and branch out to alternate ground.

BeLinked is an obvious choice, as it uses your LinkedIn account the way Tinder uses your Facebook profile, but this is not your only option. I found a lot of lesser-known possibilities for professionals, such as Raya, Dapper, and The Dating Lounge, and though they all vary in theme and content, they have one thing in common: A high yield of professionals who log into the apps on the regs. Here are the top 10 dating apps for professionals.

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1. BeLinked

As the name might tell you, BeLinked dating app uses not your Facebook profile but your LinkedIn account to log in, which is a good signifier of how the app functions in general. BeLinked is for professionals, so if you're chillin' on your mom's couch and plan on staying there for a long time, more power to you, but this app may not be the best fit. If you're a driven, ambitious and motivated career gal, this is the dating app for you.

2. The League

The League dating app is highly selective, and profiles pull in your Linkedin and Facebook info. There is a waiting list to get on the app, but if you have a friend who's on there — they can give you a VIP ticket which lets you cut the line. But there's nothing stopping you from applying if you so desire, especially if you're looking for other career-minded folks.

3. Dapper

If you're working all the time, you probably don't have an extra second to schedule dates. Dapper handles this for you; if you have a match, the app will suggest a time and place for an 'awesome first date.' When you're booked bumper-to-bumper with meetings all day, the last thing you have mental energy for is dreaming up the perfect first date, so this app will be super helpful to over scheduled professionals.

4. The Dating Lounge

As with Hitch, where you get to play matchmaker, and Hinge, where you date friends of Facebook friends, The Dating Lounge connects people that are friends of friends on Facebook, and mutual pals can play cupid and introduce friends via the app. It's also an invite-only app, which promises to weed out scammers and randos, and present you with a more curated selection of dates. Perfect for those of us profesh enough to need date curation.

5. Suitr

Dating app Suitr is specifically for professionals, so it wins a stamp of approval from white-collars right there. Also, their 'team of dating experts' review everyone who signs up, and if you're not actually a professional, you're weeded out. A word of advice: Critics of the app complain that you can never delete your profile, so be sure you really want to, uh, suit up before you join.

6. Whim

Once again, this app caters to those who have no extra time — just pop in the dates and times you're free in any given week, and this app will schedule some dates for you. Whim is not totally willy-nilly — you browse people's profiles and flag the ones you're interested in meeting; if they flag you back, the app does the scheduling for you.

7. Raya

Like The League, Raya dating app is application-based. If you're accepted, the app — 'for people in creative industries' — will link you with other special chosen ones. The membership-only dating app design is like Soho House for the online world of love-searching (or date-searching, whatever), and has a monthly fee, so this generally appeals mostly to those who are creative professionals — aka celebrities.

Best Online Dating Apps For Black Professionals Reviews

8. Teased

Dating app Teased is less about profile photos and more about experiential data — what is this potential date really like? What do they like to do, and where do they like to go? The app is populated with your Instagram photos, and places deep emphasis on getting to know someone inside and out, as opposed to the Tinder hot-or-not sensibility. Professionals who have lived exciting lives would probably do well here.

9. Match

Of course, I have to include Match's dating app, which is the premier app for finding an actual relationship. If you've got it all — high-level career, beautiful home, great friends, amazing family — but you want to stop checking the 'single' box on forms, Match is probably your best bet for finding something serious.

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