Back in my long-gone days, you'd go out to a club with your mate. There would be maybe 200 men at the club. You'd get talking to a couple of them, a couple more if you were really working it. Either you and one of the guys would get lucky with each other, or you'd go home via the kebab shop and try something else the following week.
You never even spoke to 197 of the men at the club.
Now it's like ALL the men at the club talking to ALL the women at once, plus all the other people at the other places up and down your area! It's obvious that most of those 197 men weren't right for you or vice versa and, to an extent, you filtered each other out by walking straight past them (or stamping on their feet, depending). None of those in-person filters or attractions online, just a 10-second profile and a few snapshots. It's like shopping, not socialising. And there's the thousands of other buggers out there, too.
This is what people mean when they say it's a numbers game. You have to be ultra-clear in your mind about what you're aiming to do and be ruthlessly focused. There's no playing it by ear or feeling your way, you're an item in a catalogue and so are they. Filter, filter, filter, and you have to do it deliberately.
Full disclosure; I gave up on this early doors and am simply not bothering now. But I pay attention to those who make it work, including my brother who met his last two wives (I know, he started early!) on Tinder. Listen to the women generously sharing their expertise on threads here, maybe even get a book - I assume there's a Tinder For Dummies?
And good luck 😊 I hope you have some fun!