two ways:
1. have above average photos to attract them swipe on you
2. pay premium on subscription on application you think will work for you (try for a month subscription first), see how's the result.

for me, i liked tinder platinum so far, but CMB worked well for me at least a week ago, after i changed my photo.

you CANNOT wait girls to chat you up, it's not a real life situation, be aggressive but not stupid.

can I just say that dating app actually makes dating worse?

Heres my opinion:
1. photo is such a huge thing in dating app and its mainly the first thing we see is photo then we decide from there. I think this makes people including me to be more shallow.
2. your personality is really hard to be congested into 1 dating app. most people are also bad at writing about themselves
3. Its so much easier to ghost people in dating app

I know that there are many people met their partner on dating app. I also met my ex on dating app. But I find that the quality of my relationship wasn't that great compared to last time when I met them from school and uni and i was friends with them for some time. I know that it will work for some people. all im saying is imo it shouldn't dominate the dating world like it is right now.

its also actually easier for shy and socially awkward person like me to hide behind my phone and 'meet' people on dating app. But the downside is i am never challenged to make new connection because i think "ok wat theres dating app".
Therefore I am never pushed to solve my social awkwardness and shy attitude.

I think people should go out more, dare to talk to strangers, be more open when strangers talk to you, and dont think its taboo to date your friend/colleague.

TLDR: Dating app bad, real life good

once you upgrade to tinder plus, you can select either to upgrade to gold or platinum.
i will advice you just upgrade to platinum la
i dont know what age you're (they may charge differently), but for me it's rm5x.00 per month which is like nothing.