Getting the Spark Back
October 15, 2024 at 04:31AMThe era of the dating app appears to be declining, with people growing more reluctant to swipe online endlessly. However, the apps are not ready to give up without a fight, introducing dating events in IRL to keep their clientele onboard. Magdalene Taylor ventures into the fray at a Chaotic Singles x Tinder dating event to see if people remember how to interact in person.
As I tried to pay my bill and call a car toward the end of the night, there was, quite literally, a line of men waiting to speak with me. It was honestly the ego boost of the season, something that does not often happen to me at parties or bars. To some, it may resemble the experience of swiping on the apps—there can be dozens, perhaps hundreds, of men virtually queuing up for a shot at one woman, some even going so far as to pay to send a digital rose that goes unnoticed. It’s easy to complain about this imbalanced heterosexual dynamic online, but it was hauntingly earnest to witness in person. Their hopefulness—conveyed not in still images or bland DMs but in growing smiles and flirtatious tones—was deeply affecting. I was touched that they’d willingly submitted themselves to hours of attempted human connection, then tried their chances, at the end of a long night, with me. It was impressive that they’d garnered bravery to confront me. I think in those moments, we seemed real to one another in a way that’s nearly impossible to replicate online.
from Longreads https://longreads.com/2024/10/14/getting-the-spark-back/
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