A shot of 21st century love

by Emma Hearle and Maja Aarbakke

Have you had enough of chasing strangers in clubs and wasting your time with dead end conversations? Emma Hearle and Maja Aarbakke investigate the dating scene

You meet online, swap a few emails and before you know it you're on a date.

The internet has introduced many new opportunities in the search for love and there are dating websites out there for everyone.

Online

Set up a profile, display your best pictures and get chatting, you’d be surprised how many people are online, especially in London. Mysinglefriend.com even allows you to set up profiles for your friends, fantastic for anyone who doesn’t like having to sell themselves on their own.

It also means you and your friends can check out singles together and see who tickles your fancy before sending out an email or ‘winking’ at your potential new interests. Much of the stigma attached to internet dating has gone now and there are a wide range of singles on offer, so get browsing.

We decided to make our first Internet experience a double date. We met ‘Londonboy343’ and his friend on datingdirect.com and before we knew it we had a date arranged for the following night. The first few minutes were painfully awkward but then the drinks broke the ice and the conversation began to flow.

Jonathan as it turned out looked a lot different on his profile and was sweating with nerves while his friend tried entertaining the group with personal one-sided stories of unknown people. Not too impressive. An hour and two bottles of wine later, Jonathan’s friend, Raymond, was still in the middle of his life story.

Remember, a first date should never be too private an affair. You may feel like you've made a connection through your emails but keep in mind that you don’t know this person and should keep the date to a public place like a busy restaurant or café.

Everybody remembers Cilla Black’s Blind Date in the ‘90s, and the idea can still be fun if you encourage your friends to set you up as it can be fun to meet guys or girls you don’t know anything about beforehand. Like the TV show which often put couples together, you too could have a fun night out or, fingers crossed, find someone special with this slightly old-fashioned tactic.

Speed dating

In the past, speed dating has had a reputation for being used by sad, lonely and far from attractive people, so naturally we were a bit hesitant with the idea but we were far from disappointed after curiosity got the better of us and we went to a cocktail bar in Soho to give it a go!

A couple of mojitos eased first-time nerves and it certainly gave some of the guys that much- needed Dutch courage! But with only four minutes to talk to somebody before the bell, it meant having to start the same conversation every four minutes.

After guy number fifteen, all the information seemed to have merged and we were comparing notes to remember our Johns from our James and our Petes from our Pauls! However, although we were pleasantly surprised with the aesthetics of the 18 hopefuls, the ‘I work in the city and played rugby at university’ counterfeit got a little more than tiresome!

When the session had finished, we received an email giving us the option to tick those we liked, and saw what matches came up. Although it was flattering to get almost 18 ticks, we did wonder if they remembered us, or if like us they simply ticked all 18 to see who’d tick us back! If you are interested, go to smartdatinguk.com as they compare all the speed dating companies out there for all ages.

OnAnon, in Piccadilly, has an 18-26 speed dating night which is perfect for students and a good location if you want to move on to a club afterwards with your new love interest! In a desperate attempt to prepare for the dates, we’d read several date-guides but we ended up even more confused and nervous than when we had started out!

Remember to just be yourself and as long as you’re safe, then there’s nothing to lose. Many couples are now no longer ashamed to admit they first met online. Many dating sites are free to join while some others may require a small registration fee but it is easy to get involved and with the millions of people signed up, you could be just a click away from finding someone special.