Speed Dating

Speed dating is today a social and commercial phenomenon among other ways to find a mate in our busy and global society. It paradoxically began in 1999 with the Rabbi Yaacov Deyo who invented this system to allow single Jewish men and women to meet in a safe, chaperoned environment and therefore facilitate weddings in Los Angeles.

How does it work? It is organised in parties that take place in clubs or restaurants and cost between 30 and 80 dollars. 10 to 25 men and the same number of women (usually from the same age range) interact with each other for three to ten minutes. You are a number, you are forbidden to give your name or any phone number or address. When your minutes are over, a bell is rung and you shift to another partner. At the end of the session, each participant indicates which of the people he met would be of interest for a future date (ticking a box).

One of the advantages of speed dating comparing to blind dates and personals is that the latest do not satisfy the crucial requirement of physical attraction and chemistry in order for two people to hit it off and pursue. You are not required to waste time - that you would rather save - meeting someone, that you feel obliged to be courteous to. The advantages of speed dating according to its companies are numerous: first, it allows singles to meet a large number of people, in an easy event and for the price of one date, where you are guaranteed that everybody is really single. It is efficient for busy professionals who have limited social circles. The men are not stuck in their usual role of seduction and shy people overcome their inhibitions. The matching process occurs after the event, ensuring people do not have to face rejection in person.

The latest psychological researches help understanding people behavior during speed dates and, not as other modern ways to find a mate, it gave a systematic look at the genuine behavior of people choosing one. What the researches showed was that many of the things that had previously been found or thought to be important for people (especially women), like personality, education, religion, income or smoking and drinking