Photo Illustration by Jason Luong | The Signal
With close to 500,000 residents, Atlanta recently landed the title of most romantic city in the nation. The congregation of aquarium, grunge bars, restaurants and parks has set the scene for quite a few nights to remember.
For those of the young crowd, such as Georgia State junior Kelsey Santangelo, the challenge isn’t scoring the first date, but rather finding someone to go with.
“It just seems like no one talks to each other,” she said. “Everyone is so busy on their phones with their music, rushing by, that meeting someone — even when you’re on campus — is incredibly hard. No one ever says hi.”
Dr. Paul Oyer, Stanford University economics professor, linked economic patterns to online dating in his 2014 book, “Everything I Ever Needed to Know About Economics I learned from Online Dating.”
He said social media ubiquity has introduced quick, easy and cheap way to meet new people, which has changed the dating atmosphere. In a recent interview with The Signal, he shed some light on the quick growth of online dating.
“When you’re in college, it’s somewhat easier to meet people, whichever city you’re in,” he said. “There are classes, organizations, events, always new ways to meet more people. As you get into your late 20s, however, the opportunities to meet someone new become less and less.”
Oyer said online dating might be the reason why fewer and fewer young people are choosing to settle down.
“The choices are overwhelming,” he said. “It’s cheaper, faster and more efficient, so if you can keep looking for someone better, why not keep looking?”
In dating applications such as Tinder and Bumble, the rules are similar – swipe to like, start up a chat. For some, that special first conversation is lost in these casual settings, and face-to-face contact is vital. But for others, like Georgia State freshman Ryan Capone, the online environment is ideal.
“Online dating has helped link together parts of Atlanta that otherwise wouldn’t interact. It has mixed all types of people together and helped them connect. I’ve met people online, two of which are now in my friend group,” he said.
For the less optimistic, there is an alternative. Headquartered in Atlanta Tech Village, a new species of a dating app is making conversation secondary to entertainment.
PlayNConnect, launched in September 2015, is an app that uses games to familiarize matched users with each other’s interests while solving puzzles and playing word games.
Faisal Zaman, co-founder of the app, told The Signal the text-based games are designed to paint an intimate picture of the other person’s character before going into a conversation.
According to psychological studies, he said, the best way to disarm someone is by making them laugh. And for Zaman, there’s another factor to why he thinks the app will be successful.
“Women have now become half of the gaming force in the world,” he said. “Interestingly enough, people who game together, often times chat online and end up going on dates.”
The app is only marketed in Atlanta currently and already has had a growing response with over 300 users that keep coming back, Zaman said.
