The money-makers Dialling up a notch, these are the people literally profiting off dates – the cohort willing to win a tangible prize at all costs. This ranges from the sugar-daddy realm of Meete – yet another hyper-specific dating app, where women are paid to talk to men – to the actual criminal activity of, um, stealing from your date. Remember the Tabi Swiper? This New Yorker stole his date’s Margiela boots the morning after and was hunted down on the internet, West Elm Calebstyle. A cruel, high-risk strategy? Yes. But am I the only one who’ll admit to wishing I’d taken something from a terrible one-night stand? I’ve often thought a free something would at least soften the occasional trauma – but I guess that’s what scuttling on the tube at Oxford Street in a bodycon dress and heels in broad daylight will do to you.
New York-based journalist Mimi* wins gold in this round, though, for once accepting $1,000 to go to dinner – “strictly dinner!” – with a guy from Twitter. “I vetted him a bit, and figured if he’s the type of guy to offer up this much cash to eat steak with me, he’s got to be interesting enough for a potential story,” says the 27-year-old. “He was definitely a character, and I’d absolutely take $1,000 to go out with him again.” Yes, I’m in ‘carpe diem’ awe, too.
Dating for content In an intensely satisfying segue, next up are those dating for #content, whether aiming to go viral or simply looking for article ammunition. Now, I’ve genuinely spent my life post-16 living under an ‘anything for a story’ motto, putting myself into absurd, near unrepeatable situations for the memoir, but sadly that’s never extended to something as classy as dates. The Times writer Hannah Skelley, however, admits to agreeing to a blind date on the expectation that, at worst, she would get a good feature out of it. “I was terrified, but hoped it’d be a weird enough encounter to create some interesting content,” says the 28-year-old. “Annoyingly, he turned out to be a very average yet lovely guy.”
There are also the young women on TikTok finding cachet (and, sure, comfort) by turning dating mishaps into viral videos, with some creators leveraging it into sizable followings and sponsorships. Plus, that recent trend of women sharing their dating history via job titles on Twitter for clout. But hey, not all women, OK? I’ve seen guys sharing savage screenshots from Grindr for likes, too – ‘anything for the plot’ daters transcend gender.
Sober-ish daters Welcometothepeakperformers.Withanenviably todrink.
(obnoxiously?)healthymindsetandtheireyesfirmly ontheprize,thesedatersmeanseriousbusiness.
My social anxiety could never, but we’re seeing an longer the preferred first-date activity.
undeniable death of drinking on the first date across theboard.Accordingtoa2023surveybydatingapp
Flirtini, 50% of women and 28% of men never drink alcohol on the first date. Plus, Hinge reveals that a whopping75%ofglobalsinglessaydrinksareno
Theconceptcertainlymeanslessdistractions cloudingyourjudgment,butcoffee-screenerJenny says it’s more personal than that. “It’s more about self-preservation,”sheexplains.“I’mdonewasting money, time, good sleep and, I guess, my health on people I mostly never see again.” One of her tactics isturningupfirsttoorderasoftdrink,soshe’sone alcoholicdrinkbehindwhentheygettheirfirst.
Most people don’t ask what she’s drinking, but for anyone who does, she pretends it’s vodka for their sake. “I’d never impose my choice on them,
butiftheymademineaproblem,thenitsuggests theyfeelinsecureoranxious,andareprojecting.
It’s unintentionally become quite a useful way of understanding someone.” The sober dater has many camps, too, including thosewithcommendableself-worth,thoseaiming for that, and the occasional personwhojustwantstosound interesting.Jennyhaslost count of the number of 30-some-
thinglostsoulswhoannounce place that, on Tinder, wine and beer emojis have decreased on profiles by 40% and 25% respective-
dramaticallythattheyaren’tdrinking.
Really,though,it’sbecomingsocommon-
ly, from 2022 to 2023. Themovementshowsnosignsofslowing,either:
Hinge reports that Gen Z daters don’t feel the same pressuremillennialdatersdotodrink,withmillenni-
als 50% more likely to have alcohol on a date when they’d rather not. Jenny notices her dates visibly relaxwhenshetellsthemshe’snotdrinkingonone of the more sensible nights, like Mondays, almost likethey’regladshegivesthempermissionnot
DAZED
