Between Tinder, Ok Cupid, match.com, and countless other dating sites, we would infer there really is an app for everyone. However for many, the constant influx of virtual interactions eventually become tedious and disappointing.

Between Tinder, Ok Cupid, match.com, and countless other dating sites, we would infer there really is an app for everyone. However for many, the constant influx of virtual interactions eventually become tedious and disappointing.

Online conversations deprive us of the ability to recognize other’s tones, express own emotions fully, and participate in free flowing conversation. Breaking away from the norm may seem difficult, as the number of people relying on virtual interactions slowly increases, with the number of young adults utilizing dating sites nearly tripling since 2013.

With persistence and a positive attitude we can diverge from the constant swiping, liking, and messaging. The more often we familiarize ourselves with face to face interactions, the more effortless and enjoyable meeting people offline becomes.

Don’t Rely On Nightlife

A frequent complaint about online dating is the difficulty attempting to decipher someone’s true intentions for striking a chat. Relying on nightlife may seem like the easiest route to meeting people offline, but similar to the various dating sites, we are often faced with muddled desires and vague personalities.

College parties, bars, clubs, all these settings do hold potential for meeting someone we connect with. However, when we start to solely rely on a small window of opportunity, such as a Friday and Saturday night, we become increasingly perplexed with our lack of luck.

Focus on additionally participating in activities that relate to our hobbies and can happen any time of the week. The likelihood of finding a person with similar interests will increase immensely in an environment that caters to a certain type of event or personality.

Try Something New

We all face moments where it feels as if we are meeting the same type of people and doing the same type of activities with little excitement. To avoid the cycle of repetition we can step further out of our comfort zone and try participating in foreign hobbies and attending unusual events.

Trying new things, whether accompanied by our friends, or by ourselves, will allow us to meet people we never imagined being able to relate to. Experiencing something different can range from art galleries, concerts, events in the city, to even accepting an invitation to hang out with a social circle we are unfamiliar with.

Make The First Move

Perhaps we finally find someone that gages our interest. We spend the entire evening thinking, “I’m going to talk to them. I’m going to ask if they want to meet up again.” Yet the event comes to a close and we remain frozen with fear, too nervous to strike the conversation. Whether placed in an environment we’re familiar with or one that is completely new to us, making the first move can always be a challenge.

To remove this fear, the question we have to ask ourselves is is what do we really have to lose? Yes, we run the risk of learning we have little in common, but this emotion is going to be far easier to shake compared to the regret of a missed opportunity.

Take charge and be proud of making the first move, as confidence is often rated as one of the most attractive qualities a person can possess. It’s important to remind ourselves that just because someone doesn’t approach us first, does not necessarily mean they are uninterested.

Don’t Get Discouraged

It can be daunting to look around a room and think that everyone has found a partner but ourselves. Inevitably there will be failed dates, boring conversations, and urges to stop trying. However, meeting someone we find a sincere connection to is not going to happen overnight. This is what makes genuine connections so sought after and cherished to begin with, we know how rare it is to find.

To avoid disappointment we need to stop attending every social event solely in the hopes of meeting someone else. When a connection is real, it will happen effortlessly without force or anxiety. If we spend all our energy consumed with the worry we will never meet someone, we will stop enjoying the search altogether.

Attempting to meet someone is not supposed to feel like entering the battlefield, scared, alone, and unsure of what is to come. Take the search lightly, and remember to have fun along the way. People will always respond to a smile better than a discouraged expression.

Adrienne Gagne attains happiness by continuously exploring uncharted territory. Her ultimate goal is to encourage new directions of thinking, not to sway others’ opinions to strictly align with her own....

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