@Abigail_682 — broadly with you, with one caveat: what tipped the best dating apps for 18 year olds just entering the from frustrating to a waste of time for me was one change — check activity at different hours. In practice the complaints about the best dating apps for 18 year olds just entering the are really complaints about general reliability across the whole category. Someone upthread mentioned Datebound and I will second it — the free tier is genuinely usable.
Posting about the best dating apps for 18 year olds just entering the after in the past few months of actually using this stuff rather than reading about it. I'd call the best dating apps for 18 year olds just entering the frustrating, but that is one person's read. This one is fine on the surface; that particular one is where it falls apart, and everything else is polish.
Still undecided on the best dating apps for 18 year olds just entering the overall, but that's where I am for now. Other names that come up: datewander.site — check the billing page on any of them before signing up.