Relationships

Olympic Athletes Really Aren't Holding Back On Swiping On Tinder In PyeongChang

by Candice Jalili
Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images

The Olympics are inarguably beautiful. First off, there's the obvious beauty of the fact that countries from around the world are coming together to create an incredible competition. And it's not a terrifying potentially world-ending competition! It's a positive one! One that involves happy things like sports and fitness, and everyone competing stands a pretty good chance of winning. It's where the best of the best from every different country in the world come to showcase their abilities. And when I say "the best of the best," I'm not just talking sports. Even Tinder in the Olympic Village is at its finest, especially this year.

Yep, you read that correctly: Tinder. I know, I know, I know. When you sit at work, trying to imagine what it would be like to be in the Olympic Village right now, the first thing you think of isn't necessarily swiping through Tinder, like you do every day. But you see, my friends, Tinder at the Olympics isn't like regular Tinder. It's Tinder on — dare I say it — steroids. What makes Tindering during the Olympics better than Tindering any other time? Well, for starters, this year, athletes in the Olympic Village in South Korea get free access to Tinder Gold.

What is Tinder Gold, you ask? Well, it's a members-only service that most people actually have to pay to get access to. As a member, you literally get so much. You receive unlimited likes, you get to see who likes you before you swipe, you get to go back and swipe right on that person you accidentally swiped left on, and finally, you're not limited to your own city anymore! You get a feature called Tinder Passport, which lets you connect with people anywhere in the world.

Needless to say, the fact that people at the Olympic Village get free access to Tinder Gold and all of its many perks means that Tindering at the Olympics is more fun than ever. And people are really amping up their presence on the app.

In fact, even just leading up the Olympic season, people over at Tinder HQ have found not a 100-, not a 200-, not a 300-, but a 384-percent increase in overall usage on the app in the days leading up to the Olympics this year. Just to be clear here, that means people were using Tinder 384 percent more than they were before the Olympics started!

And people aren't just casually on the app. No, the Olympics are also making people see their potential matches with rose-colored glasses. What do I mean by that? Oh, you know, just that there has been a 565-percent increase in right swipes in the time leading up to Olympic season. 565 percent!!!

The increase in right swipes could be a very valid reason for the next mind-boggling stat I'm going to throw your way. The general amount of matches in the Olympic Village have increased by just shy of 700 percent (644 percent, to be exact), and people over at Tinder HQ hypothesize that those numbers will only go up as the games continue.

So, yeah, I think it's safe to say that Tinder is LIT during the Olympics. But, don't worry! That doesn't mean you aren't part of the fun at all. Remember that Tinder Gold has that Passport feature, meaning someone swiping in the Olympic Village in South Korea could very well swipe right on you while you sit in the good old U.S. of A. Or vice versa, if you have the Passport feature yourself! Hope is still alive!!

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