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| Katherine Hewitt talks about online dating at Pizza and Pleasure on Thursday. Photo by Carlos Ealy |
Need a valentine for Valentine’s Day? Dating apps might help, as suggested by the “Pizza and Pleasure” talk on Thursday.
Katherine Hewitt, the wellness coordinator from Trinity University's Counseling Services, presented different ways to meet people through apps and dating websites, three days before Valentine's Day.
There are benefits using dating sites and applications, according to Hewitt, since they eliminate the “blind date” by providing in-depth profile information and match people through algorithms. Hewitt herself has had firsthand experience with how technology has reshaped dating. She and her husband began dating after he “poked” her on Facebook when they were in college.
Today there are more than 400 million online users of over 800 dating service apps and websites, Hewitt said. Some of these websites are tailored for specific groups of people, such as certain religion, previously married, specific ethnicity, and social status. There is even an online dating service that is exclusively for farmers.
There are also a variety of business strategies, according to Hewitt. “Coffee Meets Bagel,” for example, gets the couples discounts at local coffee shops or restaurants where they might consider having their date. “Grouper” is an app that charges $20 prior to the date to make sure no one gets stood up and the money can be used to pay for a couple of drinks or perhaps movie tickets.
There are also a variety of business strategies, according to Hewitt. “Coffee Meets Bagel,” for example, gets the couples discounts at local coffee shops or restaurants where they might consider having their date. “Grouper” is an app that charges $20 prior to the date to make sure no one gets stood up and the money can be used to pay for a couple of drinks or perhaps movie tickets.
Meanwhile, Hewitt cautioned “speed dating” or “fast judgement” features provided by some smartphone dating apps, which encourage users to judge potential matches only by looks.
Will Farner, a sophomore majoring in physics at Trinity, is a frequent attendee at “Pizza and Pleasure.” He went to a meeting for the first time as a freshman and he “just kept coming to support it.” He said he enjoyed the “Myth Busters” series before, which was about the mythical preconceptions of relationships.
First implemented in 2010, the “Pizza and Pleasure” meetings are cosponsored by the Counseling Services and various academic departments to help students navigate the touchy terrain of relationship and sexuality.
Hewitt encouraged students to come to these talks because “there are a lot of sexuality and relationship questions and students need to explore the questions they might have been afraid to ask before,” she said.
Will Farner, a sophomore majoring in physics at Trinity, is a frequent attendee at “Pizza and Pleasure.” He went to a meeting for the first time as a freshman and he “just kept coming to support it.” He said he enjoyed the “Myth Busters” series before, which was about the mythical preconceptions of relationships.
First implemented in 2010, the “Pizza and Pleasure” meetings are cosponsored by the Counseling Services and various academic departments to help students navigate the touchy terrain of relationship and sexuality.
Hewitt encouraged students to come to these talks because “there are a lot of sexuality and relationship questions and students need to explore the questions they might have been afraid to ask before,” she said.
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