Today the term “blind date” is a misnomer. With iPhones, Facebook and Google, no date is “blind” anymore. They should be called “I’ve already seen what you look like and deemed that you’re attractive enough to possibly nail at some point in the future, so I’ll take you out for dinner or cocktails.”
If you make it pass the superficial test next comes compatibility. The term great on paper needs to be changed to great online. Sadly the technological revolution that’s provided us with a wealth of information, doesn’t really help. You’re almost better off with a friend’s he’s so sweet! He wants to be in a relationship. I think you guys are perfect for each other stamp of approval.
You can internet stalk someone all you want but you won’t find out if you two actually have any chemistry until you actually meet. And the biggest disaster one can have on a first date is a lack of chemistry. Awkward pauses. Silences that you wish would cause the spontaneous combustion of the planet because they’re so awful. The worst part is that you feel trapped.
Being trapped alone would be one thing, but being trapped trying to force conversation with someone you wish was pretty much anybody other than who they actually are is enough to reach for a bottle of Pinot and a Xanax. Blind dates have such a terrible stigma that there’s even an app for that. Bad Date Rescue helps get you out of a blind date. You can set up a fake phone call at a certain time to say, “something bad happened.” Remember that episode of Sex and the City? Too bad this wasn’t around to help Charlotte. Looking for love? Apparently lying is fair game. For those terrible liars, the app even has repeat-after-me scripts to make your story sound plausible.
Yes, I realize that there are occasions where blind dates work out. Those are the ones shoved in our faces every time we protest a friend’s efforts to set us up. Please remember that these are the exception, not the rule. I’d rather be blind than go on another bad blind date. Not really. But you get the point…