Gen Z Is Leaving Dating Apps Behind::undefined
I blame enshittification. I met good people on Craigslist and then (after a soul searching break) met my wife on OK Cupid.
The alternative might be activity groups, but I’ve also seen reports that Gen Z folk are having less sex generally, not like it’s too much trouble to find partners but aren’t very driven to look. So it may be a correlative, not causal relationship.
This might be a dumb question… but uh… what are the alternatives in the modern US?
How do people meet nowadays? Like there are no 3rd places left, I dont want to pay to be in some overmonitized club or some shit. I am long out of school. Meeting people seems next to impossible nowadays.
I grew up learning you meet people at church. Too bad I’m an atheist.
(Cough)
Are you inviting me to church?
Oh, (insert local deity name here) no. Just checking in. Don’t care either way.
FWIW, there are atheist groups that serve similar functions. A friend of mine grew up going to the local “Secular Circle” every Sunday, because her parents wanted her to have the social benefits of church without any of the religious stuff, and she talks about how she intends to bring her kids there.
It’s basically being patient until you happen to bump into a good match.
Find local groups. Two notable ones for me are that I found a discord for my city for people looking for friends (which means stuff like regular board game events and the likes) and the kink community (ie, fetlife) regularly does similar (you don’t treat that one as a dating site, but rather a way to find real life events where you meet people).
There’s probably various other ways to find real life meetups that aren’t for the explicit purpose of meeting people to date, but will find em anyway. Casual sports leagues, hobby oriented groups, co-workers, etc.
I met my wife at a dungeon, but that’s not for everyone. Bars also work
Most people meet partners through mutual friends and at work.
Unless you already have shit loads of friends this is not viable. And dating at work has almost gotten impossible with the risk of harassment.
Young people are fucked.
I just wish there was a alternative for us introverts. Being a younger millennial(zillenial??? Idek), it’s rough finding people. Esp being audhd and moving right before the pandemic and just not being able to predict people and catch their interest sigh
As a Xennial I wish I’d figured that out at their age. Fuck the people trying to monetize loneliness.
I’m just old enough to have missed dating apps and I often think about how grateful I am for that. My wife and I met the old fashioned way, on the forums for a mid-tier web comic.
Oohhhh I really want to guess which comic that was.
I know the Sam and Fuzzy forums were very lively but I’d rank that in a higher tier.
QC might qualify these days but my past self thought it was the best so I’ll rule that out out of respect for younger me.
LFG was kinda like a lesser Nuclear Power but I’ve got no sense of their forums. The timeline’s off there too, given the ballpark I’m assuming from your comment.
Dragon Tails was solid upper middle, also had a very healthy community forum.
Bob and George was definitely lower tier but in a fun way.
What was the one with the pink cat? Ahhh, Something Positive. I remember thinking that was great, but I don’t really remember anything else about it.
Going further back, into possibly pre-burning-boards territory, there’s what… El Goonish Shive and Unlike Minerva. I’m not sure how well-known Unlike Minerva was, but apparently EGS is still going strong.
Around there was College Roomies from Hell which opened me up to the whole Keenspot family, and there are a lot of directions that can go.
Ruling out XKCD since even if you don’t like it, you have to acknowledge how widely loved or at least known it is. Probably same with Penny Arcade.Aaaah, the list on the Shortpacked landing page is full of nostalgia.
I won’t accept Mac Hall as being classified as anything less than top tier.
I think I’m gonna have to go with Real Life. Nice, comfortable, consistent. Cozy. Not universally known but a good solid regular webcomic. Has (oh, had) forums, fits the arbitrary timeline I have in my head.
Whaaaa, Mae Dean has certainly gone through some changes since I checked in last!I might change my answer as I continue down memory lane here.
I wish I remember what it was.
Unless my wife is reading this. Then, haha jk! I totally remember…
Meh, I’ve had some good experiences using dating apps but only after grinding for months and wading through mountains of OF spam and unresponsive matches.
Market dip blame {insert the youngest generation}
Green z are the new millennials, it seems
We are the next generations of generations.