What Happens When Singles Swap Dating Apps

Online dating can be difficult AF and trying to wade through a sea of singles might seem fun at first, but it quickly becomes daunting when you realize how exhausting it is to message and actively date multiple people at once. So what is there to do except develop a repertoire of killer online dating strategies?

But sometimes, your go-to moves on dating apps can start to feel a little stale, and you need something or someone to come in and refresh your online dating game. A new video from Elite Daily — in which singles swap phones and find each other dates — shows us just how nerve-wracking it is to relinquish your beloved dating profile to someone else and put your romantic fate in their hands.

As scary as it is, though, sometimes we all need a little push in the right direction to help us spread our dating wings and find love (or at least a hookup), as the video's description so accurately explains:

"Wingmen force us to go up to a beautiful stranger and spit more game than motherf*ckin Lebron James. They’re our friends, and our biggest fans. But in 2015, most people rely more on dating apps to meet people than they do on their friends. We wanted to see what would happen if you put your dating life in someone else’s hands. Would it step up your game? Or wreck it completely?"

Needless to say, the video's participants were more than a little wary of this experiment, but it nonetheless serves as a reminder of the benefits of stepping outside of your comfort zone every now and again. Here are seven hilarious and adorable reactions that these brave souls had when they watched another person virtually assist them in snagging a date for the evening.

1. They Were Brutally Honest

You might think that picture of you doing a keg-stand makes you look super cool, but show it to a stranger and he or she might just have a different (and less biased) opinion. While no one had any major complaints about the profile pictures of their experiment partners, it seemed helpful to get a second opinion: One guy told a girl that he liked all her pictures except one, politely saying, "I personally feel like you can do better." Aww?

2. They Swapped Strategies

When you're so used to your own dating app strategy, you might not pause to consider that another approach might be more effective. The girl on the right pretty much summed up the struggle of online dating: "I don't like this whole "let's talk forever" [thing], like set a date and time." Her partner — who previously described online dating as a "web of text messages and never meeting someone" — agreed, saying, "See, I feel like I could learn from you," showing just how valuable it is to broaden your mind and try something new sometimes.

3. They Learned New Lingo

The guy on the left, bless his heart, seems blissfully unaware of a lot of LGBT-related lingo, though he claims to have heard some of these keywords before. When he tries to type, "I am into the bear," his experiment partner, a gay man, politely and adorably corrects him: "I would say, 'I am into bears.'" Apparently we all have a little something to learn from one another, even if that something happens to be a type of gay man/sexual preference.

4. They Discovered Each Other's Preferences

When you're discussing something as intimate as dating preferences with a total stranger, things can get a little awkward, obviously. While the pair pictured above were talking about how they go about getting dates, the guy discloses that his strategy is basically to lie, while the girl says she prefers to be honest.

As for another girl, when someone asked her if she was into older guys, she hilariously replied, "The last guy I dated was 50," which was definitely eye-opening for her partner. The bottom line? Not everyone goes about dating the same way, which could definitely account for a lot of the confusion and mixed signals that are rampant in the world of online dating.

5. They Cut To The Chase

While some people prefer to keep things PG prior to meeting up, it's clear that others would rather not beat around the bush. While messaging someone on her behalf, the bearded guy comes up with this clever line for her to send: "I'd like a mustache ride." Uhh, good one?

6. They Waded Through The Shirtless Pics Together

"Basically his whole picture is a happy trail," this guy says as he attempts to find a suitable date for his partner. I totally sympathize, because "Is that a nipple?" is a thought that runs through my head at least three times daily when I'm browsing through Tinder. It may not necessarily be more pleasant to see a bunch of odd-looking shirtless selfies in the company of someone else, but at least these people didn't have to go through that horror alone.

7. They Got Understandably Nervous

"I'm sweating," says this guy, accurately summarizing exactly how I would feel if I had to relinquish my OkCupid to a total stranger, even just for a few minutes.

Watch the video, sponsored by T-Mobile, in full below:

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Images: Elite Daily/Youtube (7)