San Francisco singles are ditching the apps for in person speed dating

Forget the tech — Silicon Valley whizz kids are going old school.

Bay Area singles are unplugging from dating apps and looking for love in real life after being exhausted by “ghosting,” dead-end chats and false advertising online.

A growing wave of “app-athy” is sweeping NorCal and paving the way for in-person connections.


A DJ playing at a party with a crowd of people dancing and a disco ball reflecting light patterns on the ceiling.
The Faight Collective in San Francisco, which is known for having speed dating singles nights and comedy shows. Facebook/The Faight SF

Speed-dating events and IRL mixers are seeing a massive surge in popularity in San Francisco, with bachelor and bachelorettes ditching algorithms to pitch themselves on stage in an open-mic setting.

The Faight Collective, a Lower Haight arts-and-culture hub, hosts gatherings like live comedy dating shows, where singles go through three to five rounds of live dating on stage before an audience.

A comedian host keeps the banter sharp and the awkward silences short, while the crowd acts as a collective Cupid, cheering for their favorite pairs to decide who walks away with a date.

“Because the world in 2026 is all about meeting IRL, not on dating apps,” the organizers at Thursday said.

“I feel like in person it is more organic, you get a vibe,” said Sabina Rodriguez, 57, a veteran of the South Bay speed-dating circuit told the Mercury News. “There’s just little quirks you find out by talking. The conversation is more intimate.”

It’s not just vibes, though. Daters are reportedly fed up with AI-filtered photos, catfishing nightmares and conversations that are dead in the water.


Faight Collective's "Hot Seat" live comedy dating show flyer.
The Faight Collective in San Francisco comedy dating show Instagram flyer. Instagram/thefaightsf

Paul Neuenschwander, a 37-year-old relationship coach, said the apps have essentially become a breeding ground for “desperation” and “less confidence.”

Experts say the US is witnessing a post-pandemic correction. After years of being locked behind screens, Americans are “hungry” for human touch.

According to Stanford professor Michael Rosenfeld, the pandemic added 10 million single adults to the US population – and they’re not looking for another Zoom call.

Data analyzed by Eventbrite reveals swipe fatigue is real, seeing over 1.5 million searches for dating and singles events on their site in 2024, “signaling a strong desire for in-person connections.”

“I’m a 24f and have been on hinge in San Francisco for 4 months now,” one Redditor wrote. “ITS SO DEAD!”

Don’t delete your online profile just yet though, Rosenfeld warned, because the apps still have the numbers advantage.

Source link

Visited 1 times, 1 visit(s) today

Related Article

Stop releasing phone thieves who reoffend, Met police chief urges courts

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails The head of Britain’s largest police force has urged courts to stop granting bail to repeat phone thieves, arguing that

visionOS 26.4 unlocks new ‘foveated streaming’ feature for apps and games

visionOS 26.4 beta 1 debuted today, and in addition to supporting Apple Podcasts’ new video features, the update also unlocks ‘foveated streaming’ for apps and games. Apple explains benefits of new foveated streaming support in visionOS 26.4 Per Apple’s official visionOS 26.4 release notes: “visionOS 26.4 supports NVIDIA CloudXR with foveated streaming, enabling apps to

Android Auto 16.3 update arrives with hints of video apps

Google has started rolling out Android Auto 16.3 through the beta track and while there are no major changes, there are a couple of hints at what’s to come, including the arrival of video apps. About APK Insight: In this “APK Insight” post, we’ve decompiled the latest version of an application that Google uploaded to

bb.q Chicken Deploys Deliverect Platform Across All U.S. Restaurants to Streamline Digital Operations |

By connecting its online ordering channels through Deliverect, the brand has streamlined menu updates and order flow across its restaurants, reducing operational complexity and improving efficiency and profitability.  2.16.2026 bb.q Chicken, one of the fastest-growing Korean fried chicken franchises in the United States, has announced the successful rollout of Deliverect’s digital ordering integration and menu

X is down for many – here’s what we know about the outage

Refresh 2026-02-16T14:02:51.810Z The reports continue to spike (Image credit: Downdetector) Our hopes that this might be a short, sharp blip appear to be fading – reports of problems on X continue to grow, with the number now at a massive 41,000 in the US. It’s down for thousands in the UK too, during the critical lunch

The Pixel 10a will be Dead in the Water Without this Pre-Order Deal

Google is set to launch the Pixel 10a this week, but it’s going to be dead in the water without this pre-order deal. While rivals such as Samsung offer things like double the discount and the likes of Xiaomi shower buyers with free gifts like chargers, Google tends to adopt a plainer approach to phone

You can now download a Fedora Atomic OS for your Android device

Summary Fedora Pocketblue Remix brings an atomic Fedora (OCI/OSTree/Bootc) to phones/tablets. Still a WIP: only confirmed on Xiaomi Pad 5, Xiaomi Pad 6, and OnePlus 6/6T for now. Check out the GitHub repo for installs, docs, and chat; hopefully, more devices arrive soon. I’ve been getting into atomic Linux distros lately, which is a sentence

Diesel cars now premium as EV affordability rises, market shifts

Diesel cars now premium as EV affordability rises, market shifts Diesel becomes premium choice as electric vehicle market grows Diesel cars now premium as EV affordability rises, market shifts A new report shows diesel car buyers now have the highest average income, while EVs become more accessible. Learn about market trends and shifting powertrain preferences.

Costco retires decades-old cake ordering system in digital overhaul

Check out what’s clicking on FoxBusiness.com. Costco is officially retiring a decades-old system customers have long found frustrating as part of its latest major digital overhaul.   Customers will soon be able to place custom cake and deli tray orders directly through the company’s mobile app and website. Previously, shoppers were required to drive to

I replaced three productivity apps with built-in Linux tools and didn’t miss them

At some point, I realized I was spending more time maintaining my productivity system than doing actual work. Every task lived in Todoist. Every idea, thought, or half-baked insight went into Obsidian. Every recurring action relied on reminders or thin automation layers duct-taped onto the operating system. Each tool worked fine on its own. Together,

Gemini app makes sharing more prominent in chats, boosts icon

Gemini for Android has rolled out tweaks to the chat page that make sharing and the overflow menu more prominent actions. Previously, the app/top bar of Gemini conversations centered the chat title, with a tap bringing up a bottom sheet menu with various options. At the top-right corner, you got a new chat button. This

Smartphone ban in Michigan schools comes with important exceptions – Macomb Daily

A recent conversation with State Rep. Mark Tisdel (R-Rochester) changed my mind about smartphones in schools. Earlier this week, a law banning them during instruction time was signed into law by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Initially, I, like other parents, was skeptical of this legislation as it moved through Lansing. State Rep. Mark Tisdel has also

CEO of Europe’s largest IT company does not agree with Europe’s call of reducing dependance on Google, Microsoft and other US tech companies; says: Nobody has …

No, Europe’s biggest IT services company Capgemini does not agree with calls of total technological sovereignty in Europe. Paris-based Capgemini CEO Aiman Ezzat has reportedly dismissed calls for a total technological sovereignty in Europe. His comments come at a time when there are calls from several governments across America to reduce dependance on US technology

Is Tinder the New LinkedIn? Job-Hunters Swipe for Leads on Dating Apps

Devan Barker has never spent so long job-hunting. The 31-year-old from West Hollywood is looking for serving and bartending gigs. After a bad electric scooter accident, Barker spent months out of work. Meanwhile, hiring for hospitality jobs has dropped off. Now he spends his days looking for openings on job boards like Indeed, Culinary Agents

Productivity apps failed me when I needed them most

Dhruv Bhutani / Android Authority I’ve joked before that in the war between me and productivity, I keep winning. But behind the humor is genuine anxiety about not getting enough done daily and failing to achieve my goals. Over the past few years, I’ve increasingly turned to productivity apps to help me deal with tasks,

From mainstream to underdog: These are the apps I recommend

I’ve always loved a good underdog story. When it comes to tech, I generally find myself gravitating toward the companies that aren’t constantly in the spotlight. There’s a simple reason for that: when you aren’t the default choice, you have to try harder. These companies take more risks to stand out, their products are often

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
()
x