Tinder Nightmares founder: ‘I hate dating so much'

Elan Gale on the modern minefield that is internet dating, and why humour is often the sanest response

Tell me about the inspiration for the Instagram account Tinder Nightmares?
About a year ago I was in New York, and I hadn't been on a date in a while, so I downloaded Tinder. I had been on Tinder before to varying success. I went on and I matched with what looked like a relatively pretty woman and she immediately invited me to her house. I responded with "hello", and she responded with a wink and an offer to watch her dance naked. I quickly realised I was talking to a robot [spambot]. So I kept telling the robot that I needed help because I was on fire, pleading with it to call the police. And the robot kept sending me winky faces and asking me to watch it dance naked.

I was standing in a clothing store and uploaded a screenshot to Instagram and wrote: "This is totally a nightmare - you don't even know if you are talking to a human being anymore." And so that's when Tinder Nightmares was born - standing in a Uniqlo in Times Square. I think people think you have to sit down and come up with a strategy, but I had this experience and I started this thing like four minutes later.