It was an honor to be interviewed in the Wall Street Journal in an article, in the print edition, “Speed Dating Finds New Love”, published on Singles Awareness Day.
The digital version of the story can be read here:
Julie Spira, a Los Angeles dating coach, says her clients are clamoring for old-school speed dating and singles mixers. “If you don’t RSVP when one was just announced, you can’t get in,” she says.
5 Reasons You Should Add Speed Dating to Your Regime
While speed dating was popular in the mid-1990s and then waned with the introduction of dating apps, there’s a rebirth going on right now. Here are the reasons I recommend adding a speed dating event to your calendar.
Quick Chemistry: With the exciting rush to get back to live events, speed dating events help you determine if you have offline chemistry quickly (like in seconds).
Great for Flirting: It’s also a great way to brush up on your flirting skills with ten 3-5 minute mini-dates because we’re all a bit rusty right now.
Helps Fill an Empty Date Card: Speed Dating in 2023 is the perfect match for singles wanting to get back out and date, especially when your friends aren’t fixing you up.
Helps With Swipe Fatigue: Attending speed dating events or mixers helps break up the routine of swipe fatigue on dating apps, and everyone needs a break from time to time.
It’s Affordable: Speed dating events and singles parties range in price from $35-$50 per event.
Dating Apps Are Joining the Speed Dating Bandwagon
In my conversation with the WSJ, I mentioned how several apps, Bumble, Tinder, and The League have added speed dating or IRL events to help speed up your search.
I like The League Live on Sundays at 8 pm local time, a peak night and hour for dating app use. As a member of The League, if you sign up in advance, you can go on up three video dates in nine minutes.
The League claims a three times match rate, and you’ll be 3.5 times more likely to swap phone numbers and meet in person, so put on your lipstick and check your lighting.
Bumble has introduced Speed Dating on Thursday nights at 7 pm. This day and time is ideal. If you click, you might have a date by the weekend.
How it works is you must sign up for speed dating within the app. You won’t see your date’s photo, but you can chat for three minutes. At the end of your “blind” speed date, you can decide whether to match or continue playing. If you select “match,” your date’s complete profile and photo will appear in your match queue.
Tinder introduced Fast Chat: Blind Date, where you can chat with other members from 6pm – midnight local time in the experience tab. It’s a rapid-fire blind dating experience where you can answer a few icebreaker questions before moving on to another match.
Group Singles Events
Match has a full calendar of Match offline group events to sign up for, but remember to sign up quickly because they often sell out. You’ll find many to choose from, including cooking classes to museum events in major metropolitan cities.
If your city isn’t on the list, check MeetUp and Eventbrite in your local town for singles events. But remember, singles move for love, so you should expand your search and cast a wider net.
At the end of the digital day, the winning combination to fill your date card combines online and offline activity.
Julie Spira is America’s Top Online Dating Expert. She’s an award-winning dating coach who’s been helping singles find love online for 25+ years. Follow @JulieSpira on IG.
