Was talking to my friend about online dating and the swipe apps (Bumble, Hinge, Tinder, etc.) and how they are frustrating. He lives in a major city, gets a decent amount of dates and is even frustrated with it.
Getting dates in a major city is not an accomplishment. It is likely that most of those dates are "one date, no sex, no second date". "One date, no sex, no second date" is the typical outcome for most swipe app arranged meetings.
I said "I would still rather meet a woman in person the old-fashioned way" and he said "Yeah, who knows if women are even still open to that idea" or something like that.
I wonder if there is some truth to that. Women (and men) are so reliant on technology and their own social media bubble that who knows if they are even open to meeting a man the old-fashioned way anymore (e.g. bars, volunteer event, social events, group hikes, gym, etc.) I notice it when I am out and about. Women are too busy looking at their phones, are in their own little worlds and seem to even avoid making eye contact with random attractive men.
You have a good observation here. I observe the same thing when women are out in public. In parks and on walking/hiking paths, women tend be using earbuds, avoiding eye contact, and sometimes having RBF (Resting Biatch Face). It's likely that some of those women wearing earbuds and avoiding eye contact have boyfriends/husbands and aren't seeking new penis. I tend to spend time in areas of my city with a higher concentration of unmarried people and I see this. It must be pointed out that unmarried doesn't mean uncoupled so many of the unmarrieds I see likely have boyfriends. The uncertainty surrounding this is rather annoying. I'm sure there are even some unattached women with bad boy language and earbuds.
There have been changes at the gym too, when I consider the general gym floor. I was in college between 2001-2005. In 2003, only the most attractive women (maybe the top 10-15% wore earbuds/headphones with their new iPods/MP3 players at the time). By 2010-2011, about 85-90% of women were wearing earbuds/headphones at the gym and that percentage has stayed constant in my experience since then. The workaround for the earbud/headphone problem at the gym is going to fitness classes. Even fitness classes, despite great ratios, aren't very productive either. A lot of women will start playing on the phones quickly after fitness class ends. Women aren't very sociable in general before or after fitness classes. I have gotten numbers and arranged dates at fitness classes, so it's not impossible. It has a greater degree of difficulty than one would think given the ratios.
The bar scene has always been challenging for a variety of reasons. Those reasons can be found on other threads.
Hobby groups/co-ed sports leagues are challenging. Mostly every guy in a co-ed sports league is a guy trying to get his penis wet there because he read online/in some publication that co-ed sports leagues are a great alternative to bar cold approaching and the swipe apps.
It is quite funny how it flipped
I remember when online dating was thought of as weird! People were embarrassed to be using it or telling people they met a girl from plentyoffish etc. It was thought of as a way for semi-undateable people to meet up!
I remember that time too!
