Some dating apps like Tinder focus on singles who are in your vicinity. There are others, such as Hinge which match you with people with whom you share mutual Facebook friends. The logic here of course is that you already have someone in common. Of course, this means that you may already have someone to talk about it. Hinge, therefore, seems to take away some of the pressure (you are also matched only with people who have ‘liked’ you).

In spite of this, there is still an anxiety attached to having to actually speak to this real, live individual. In order to set people on the road to total romantic success, Hinge has conducted a study in order to see what the most successful pick-up lines are. Some of them were  little suspicious, though. For example: How was your 2004? That’s not a normal question to pose, and definitely not one that will go down well with someone younger.

“Bears, beets or Battlestar Galactica?” We’re not sure about the logic behind this one.

“Better adventure: rock climbing or scuba diving?” This is a little less obscure and may actually get you a response, starting off some kind of conversation.

“Do you string cheese or do you bite it?” In reference to whether you pull strips of string cheese before you bite it or simply eat it like a chocolate bar. In fact, this is a question that could end up leading to rejection. We advise caution with this one.

It is obvious that some of these lines are suspect. After all, this is just Hinge we’re talking about. But being creative in your opening lines will help you in the long run. There is an importance to not sounding too pretentious, however. As long as you keep up a polite façade, you’re likely to keep a good conversation going until you get an actual date.