I really don’t want to be discouraging, but for a man on dating apps, the competition is brutal. For women, it’s simply overwhelming. While that can be a nice boost for the lady’s ego, I can only imagine how disheartening it is for any man who is not either completely full of himself, or “shotgunning” — messaging each and every woman who even vaguely catches their attention until the program informs him he’s reached his messaging limit.
I do think you’re better off skipping the meat market and hanging out on the local activity forums.