In October 2013 the Pew Center released a report that found Americans are most comfortable looking for prospective partners online.  59 percent of those surveyed agreed that online dating was a good way to meet people. A major development in this new survey (the last one was in 2005) concerned the smartphone—which didn’t exist in 2005. Now, according to this new report, one in ten American adults, ages 25 to 34, use a dating app on their phones.

One of the most popular of these apps is Tinder, an app that allows the user to quickly surf through images of singles within ten miles. Tinder is the fastest-growing free dating app in the world. Creating a profile on Tinder makes it immediately obvious why the app is so popular. After uploading a Facebook photo, a use can simply flip through pictures, evaluating prospective partners photos.  New Yorkers are among the most prolific users of Tinder.

The biggest difference between Tinder and real-life dating has to do with volume.  A similar app is Twine, which is Tinder without the pictures. Twine is also free.