Zhang said that, compared with her hairdresser’s mixer, the We Are The Socials event felt more formal. Without the shared connection of having the same hairdresser, and faced with a larger crowd, she found it more nerve-wracking.
“(With the speed dating), you might have a lot of similarities with someone, but it’s very hard to find out in a few minutes,” Zhang said. “Because it’s a bigger event, you have less time with these people.”
Even so, she managed to make a few meaningful connections, including one that led to a date.
“When you get to meet them in real life, there’s no visual screen to hide behind. So it might be a bit awkward at times, but you can see them on a more authentic level.”
STAYING ANONYMOUS: MATCHMAKING APP
Kathy (not her real name), a 24-year-old university graduate, has never been in a relationship, nor has she ever used a dating app.
It wasn’t until she tested Amble – an anonymous matchmaking app and Telegram bot – for its co-founder Cayden Gwee that she unexpectedly met someone. After six weeks of chatting, he became her boyfriend.
According to Amble co-founder Alyssa Chua, users first fill out a series of long-form questions about their personality, interests and values. From there, Amble uses artificial intelligence to match users based on commonalities. Users can also indicate their intentions for forming connections on the platform, be it friendships, relationships or both.
Matched users are placed in a three-day chat, where question prompts pop up to navigate conversations. These range from one’s dreams to childhood experiences and family.
But users don’t know who exactly they’re talking to and what they look like.