Awkward, dry chats after matching on dating apps? 6 cool ways to break the ice

Bring life to your first chats with these creative ice breaker hacks. These will turn add life to your texts.

Everyone hops onto dating apps with a fresh, hopeful excitement to match and connect with new people. With every swipe, there's a spark an anticipation. When you finally match, the first chat dread settles in.

The first chat may start well but can soon feel like a slogfest, as keeping the momentum going feels like a task with awkward, dry replies, one-word answers, and even the possibility of getting ghosted looming.

The ice-breaking phase of a chat on dating apps feels like an enormous challenge. The first chat seems to be a lot like small talk, which Gen Z typically does not approve of. But it's not as scary as it seems. If you simplify it, you can actually take charge of the first conversation.

In an interview with HT, Ravi Mittal, Founder and CEO of QuackQuack, a dating app, shared a few icebreaker techniques that are creative and lower the risks of getting left on seen right after your first chat.

Reaction GIFs

A good reaction sticker or GIFs keeps the chat engaging. (Pinterest)

GenZs love to say it without saying it. Who would waste time on words when the perfect GIFs exist? Not the GenZs. Whether it ‘raising glass’ GIF as a comeback or the ‘blinking guy’ one for someone who takes too long to reply, these reaction GIFs instantly set the mood.

Here is a scenario- you come across a potential match whose bio says, ‘Professional Yapper, but will shut up to listen to my 'Pasandida Mard.’; Send them the infamous ‘Lego Batman’ GIF. It's funny, shows you are attracted to them, and keeps the tone light.

Melting the ice with memes

For GenZs, memes are not mere jokes. They are a unique method of breaking the ice and evaluating compatibility at the same time. Dropping a meme as an opener will not just increase your visibility, but GenZ daters also claim that it's the perfect way of understanding if your sense of humour aligns.

The ‘Let One Go’ Game

It's a quick and interactive ice-breaker that is bound to set you apart from all other matches. Start your conversation with a fun game of ‘Let one go.’ For example- Biryani, Pizza, Shawarma, and Momos- Let one go. Books, Movies, Music, and Social Media- Let one go. It will not only be fun, but the answers will also reveal their preferences and personality better than any small talk.

The emoji-coded first message

Hey, "how are you?" and "What do you do?" are too boring for GenZ. Starting a conversation with emoji-coded text can make you stand out; it would be a great way to indicate your wit and measure theirs while they decode the message. Here's an example- Do you love 🍍 on 🍕?

Star signs

Asking about star signs has always been used as an icebreaker, but GenZ is taking the wittier road with it. Instead of directly asking, "What's your star sign? I am a Cancer!" try, "You look like a Scorpio. Did I get it right, or did I make a fool of myself?" A strong believer in astrology or not, this can be fun for all. It's casual and leaves an open-ended question that would encourage your match to respond.

Playlists swap

Music is the easiest way to bond; asking for song recommendations or offering to swap playlists is much better than some generic "Tell me something about yourself." Here's an example- Ask your match to share a song that reminds them of you while you send them a song that fits them perfectly.

To sum it up, based on Ravi's recommendation, bring personality to your chats. By keeping them engaging and playful, you can turn your dry chats into ones that are screenshot-worthy (for all the good reasons.)