In the 21st century dating has taken a new twist with the introduction of speed dating. First developed in 1998 by an American
Rabbi to help young Jewish men and women find spouses of their faith, speed dating has taken off with a bang in USA, UK and now Australia.
If it all sounds a little clinical and unnatural, those who have tried it describe it as a fun and sexy way to meet like-minded
singles. As the saying goes: “Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.”
Speed dating is an alternative for people whose workload doesn’t allow them a lot of free time for socialising. It also caters for those who perhaps don’t play a sport or have hobbies where they can meet single people like themselves. And not everyone enjoys the club scene. It can be intimidating on your own.
Basically this is how speed dating works. An organiser invites an equal number of male and female singles of similar ages to a central venue. Each participant is issued with a ‘dating card’ then they talk to each member of the opposite sex in the group for a set time period – usually between 3 and 8 minutes. At the end of the allocated time period, a bell rings and the participants move to the next suitor.
No personal
details are given out during the talks. At the end of the evening if anyone takes your fancy and you’d like to see them again, you tick their name on the dating card and cross your fingers that they chose you too. If that happens, you receive an email the next day with his or her contact details.
It’s really very simple and it’s safe because you choose whom you share your contact details with.
I’m not sure if there are any statistics on the success rate of speed dating, but like its partner, online dating, it’s filling a need in society. It’s enabling single people to go out and meet a larger sample of like-minded singles in a non-threatening environment.
First impressions can be a reliable indicator of compatibility. If you follow your instincts and don’t tick remote possibilities, you’re likely to stumble onto a pleasant surprise.