This Man Used Tinder to Hitchhike Across North America

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Call it the hitchhiker’s guide to social media.

As reported in the Daily MailandThe Telegraph, a clever Briton by the name of Daniel Beaumont last year harnessed the power of the smartphone app Tinder to travel 7,500 miles across North America:

“Daniel Beaumont began an epic, rambling journey in May this year, when he decided to hitchhike across the US to attend a wedding in British Columbia, Canada. Three months later, as he embarked on the next leg of his journey, he found himself fed up of forever waiting by the side of the road with his thumb sticking out. In an idle moment while playing with his phone, Mr. Beaumont struck upon an ingenious solution.”

Beaumont’s ingenious solution of course was to get rides via Tinder dates. Supplemented by CouchSurfing and Craigslist, Beaumont was able to ride mobile dating across the continent:

“On Tinder, he says he would occasionally make an observation about a woman’s profile to strike up conversation — but he also frequently just got straight to the point with questions like, ‘Can you drive me 60km south?'”

This is one of those “so zany it has to be true” kinds of stories. It’s also a testament to the power of social media, the adventurous curiosity of the digital generation, and the ever-expanding capabilities of everyday technology.

For more on this story and to see photos from Beaumont’s travels, be sure to check out the article linked below.

Below: Christian Rudder analyzed data from all the major dating apps and websites. Here’s what he learned.