For months, this was my normality. But the lifelong romance I was looking for never materialised. As I sat on my sofa on yet another night ready to swipe until I ran out of steam, I decided I'd had enough. Even if my screen was flooded with likes or messages, my forays into dating app culture had rarely ended with in-person dates. I'd spend hours agonising over a response - I needed to be funny, cool and captivating but not give too much away. But why was I so desperate to impress a stranger trapped behind a screen? I needed to go cold turkey and figure out why I had been sucked in so completely.
I realised that, a lot of the time, I was swiping out of boredom. Instead of enjoying the few moments in the day when I had no responsibilities, I'd reach for my phone. The thrill of going through a pile of likes was unlike anything else. I was addicted to the dopamine rush and the feeling of being wanted - "This person likes me," I'd gush. "This could be the start of our future."
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