Dating Series Part 2: How to Meet People

Dating Series Part 2 Ways to Meet Someone

By Hayley Higbee

Trying to figure out places to meet people can be challenging. If you are in school and are on campus taking classes, it can be easier to meet new people, but what if you are no longer going to school, never went to school, or haven’t met anyone at school, how can you meet someone?

Find something you love to do. If you like playing sports, like pickleball, then go and play and talk to others that are playing, ask them if they want to join you or if you can join them. You can also meet people at church or a religious event. Some people even meet people at the gym or even at their workplace. Let your family members and friends set you up with someone. Something that we all probably hear all the time is that you have to leave your house if you want to meet someone. In a way that is true. You have to go out so that you can cross paths with someone. You can go on a walk, go to the store, or go to the gym, just do something to get you out of your house. You don’t always have to leave your house to meet someone. A lot of people are meeting people on dating apps.

Dating apps can help you to meet people outside of your area. This gives you the opportunity to choose the age range that you want, the distance range, and you know that these people are single, so it takes guessing out of it.1 Dating apps can be scary, because you don’t know if the person you are talking to is real or not. Being on dating apps can also make things hard because of the paradox of choice. The paradox of choice is that it is harder to find someone when you have more choices and options. With all the choices online, it makes people think that there is someone better out there and this makes them not want to commit to someone.2

No matter what you decide to do, the most important thing to remember when dating is to have fun. We all get so caught up in wanting to be with someone so badly that we rush things and give ourselves anxiety. A lot of people tend to get so wrapped up in finding someone and when they don’t, they get upset and heartbroken because of the expectations that we put on others.1 Don’t think of dates as someone that you could possibly marry, think of dating as an opportunity to meet new people, including yourself and what you want your future spouse to be like and how you want them to treat you.1

I challenge all of you to take the opportunity to go out and meet new people. This doesn’t have to be something crazy; you can go to the store and just say hi to someone. Get comfortable talking to strangers. Go to events and talk to people. Ask your family members or friends to set you up. If you’ve never tried a dating app, get on one just for fun and see what it’s like. If all that scares you then just get out of your house. Go for a walk, go to the store, go to the gym, just do something that allows you the opportunity to meet someone.

References

1. Theodora Blanchfield, A. (2023a, November 25). Why is dating so hard?. Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/why-is-dating-so-hard-5220113
2. Sussex Publishers. (n.d.). Why you should ask your friends and family to set you up. Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/science-practice/201803/why-you-should-ask-your-friends-and-family-set-you
3. (2016, January 11). 7 ways to make a conversation with anyone | Malavika Varadan | tedxbitspilanidubai. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4Zu5ZZAG7I