I’m asking for a friend (HaHa). But seriously, I’m curious.

For context, I’m an older dude, I was actively dating from 1996-2012 and then I finally settled down.

My love life until then had its ups and downs. There were some times that my heart was shattered and there were some times when I was crushingly lonely and depressed. But there were some fantastic romances and adventures too. And I look back on those with fondness now.

But I never used a dating app. They did exist back then, I just didn’t want to. For me dating worked like this: go out to a bar, club or party, talk, laugh, put on some music, dance, kiss, and then probably have sex.

Definitely not a 100% successful formula, more like 30% probably or 2% if we’re talking about actual relationships forming, but it was a fun process and I certainly wasn’t the only one doing it.

But dating apps sound horrible and awkward. I can’t imagine going out with a stranger, having dinner with incredibly uncomfortable and forced conversation and then deciding to have sex. Like, that sounds so unnatural and weird.

Why does anybody do that? Is anyone here who complains about how awful dating is trying “the old fashioned way”?