Arif Qazi / Insider
Young people are adopting an old-fashioned solution for the humiliation and hassle of dating apps
Whether it's a meetup at a dimly lit bar, an awkward blind date, a speed-dating event, or even an answer to a classified ad in the newspaper, American dating has long been an experiment of throwing strangers together and hoping for the best. In many cases, there was little to connect people except a shared geography or, perhaps, a mutual acquaintance.
For the most part, this dating formula worked. American marriages are full of people who started dating when they were complete strangers. A survey conducted by the Survey Center on American Life, where I'm the director, found that 46% of married Americans reported not knowing their spouse before they started dating.