Speed Dating: Fast Paced Dating System for a Fast Paced World
Many moons ago when I was young, people usually found someone to date by socializing in a bar, being introduced to someone by a friend, or even occasionally meeting someone at the local grocery store or or even the local laundromat. But in today’s fast paced, no time to browse world, these old fashioned dating systems are quickly becoming pushed aside to make way for more modern venues such as Speed Dating.
Speed dating is where a group of single men and women meet in a pre-arranged place, where they are then paired at a table and are rotated for a series of mini “dates” lasting anywhere from 3 to 8 minutes. An organizer gives a signal at the end of each mini session and the participants (usually the men) then moves on to the next table. Each participant jots down their thoughts or impressions of the other person on a card and when the evening is over, they receive a list of any possible matches of who wants to trade contact information with each other so they can set up a “real” date later on.
I remember seeing this concept on a television program years ago and, at the time, I thought it was just something that the writers cooked up for that particular programme but I later found out that speed dating is real! According to most of the articles that I have read on the subject, speed dating was created by Rabbi Yaacov Deyo back in 1998 and was originally intended as a way for single Jewish men and women to meet and hopefully marry. Not too long after the first speed dating session at Pete’s Café in Beverly Hills, many commercial dating companies started offering similar speed dating events and by the year 2000 quite a few movies and television programs were featuring speed dating segments.
There are some advantages to this type of dating. Obviously, everyone attending the event is there for the same reasons, thus a person can go alone without feeling embarassed or out of place. It is time efficient and the participants don’t have to think about where to go or who will pay. There are no feelings of awkward goodbyes at the end of the evening and because the “matching” doesn’t happen until after the event is over, people don’t have to worry about accepting or rejecting each other face to face. And if they happen to be paired with someone boring – they don’t have to put up with it for very long! Also, because of the time limit of each mini date, they can get straight to asking important personal questions of the other person without looking like they are being pushy or moving too fast. When you only have maybe 8 minutes at the most, there is no time to worry about being tactful or beating around the bush.
I have discovered that there are a lot of community centers and churches offering speed dating opportunities for single senior citizens. I think it is a good idea because even if they don’t find love or companionship, just the amount of socializing that they would get from this sort of event would be very beneficial for older people. Since elderly people often isolate themselves and get disconnected from the outside world, being socially active can be just as important for them as staying physically active is.
Fortunately, I am not single and do not have to worry about dating anymore but it is nice to know that I would not have to resort to going to bars or on blind dates for companionship. Besides, speed dating seems like it could be a lot of fun too!
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