Met my wife through a dating app. I was just honest about who I was, what my own shortcomings were, and the kind of person that interests me. Was indifferent to short-term or long-term preferences. Only got a a very small number of hits, but they were much more on the mark as far as I was concerned than if I just went to a bar and tried to meet people. I didn’t try to push myself or anyone I met into anything heavier than food or a flick, and just let the friendship grow into whatever she was comfortable with. When I was bored, I’d ask her if she wanted to meet up for lunch or something. That was it.
I think it helped that, while lonely, I was perfectly fine being without a partner at that time. I felt happy with my life, and I didn’t want to give anything up to make someone else happy. You gotta love yourself first before loving anyone else, otherwise it just isn’t fair to anybody.