If you’ve experienced no-shows, fake profiles, cat fishers and awkward first dates, then chances are you’ve been dabbling in some unsuccessful online dating. Sitting behind the safety of your screen and swiping seems fairly easy, however disastrous the repercussions are sometimes. However, If you have the chance to interact with single people old-school style, in person, over an elaborate meal, would you go?
LocalXo, a platform in Chennai, offers experiences curated by the locals, with love. Their first-ever singles dinner helps you break the monotony from dating apps, matrimony sites and uncomfortable family monitoring, to experience a warm communal-style dinner, with good food, drinks, and camaraderie! A mix between two concepts —speed dating and pop-up dinners, it gives you a chance to create either new friendships or find that special someone. “I think it’s a fun concept,” says Suneethi Raj of LocalXO. “I’m single myself. So I know how difficult it is to meet people organically. We’re aiming at 30-year olds and above. However, our age bracket for the event is 25-45 years. We also have a screening process of the participants’ social media profiles.” Suneethi adds that if this goes well she will be introducing movie nights, game nights and costume nights. Aruna Bharathi, an ad copywriter is mulling over the idea of going for the dinner. “Texts with emoticons don’t do justice to the visual cues, body language and tonality of voice,” says Aruna. “Online dating is already a gamble we take. So, how bad can this be?”
Over the years, thanks to technology and armchair friendships and relationships, social anxiety among people has been on the rise. The need to go out and experience human interaction seems to be leading us to a strange episode out of the Netflix show Black Mirror, a show that has satirical themes around modern society and the consequences of technology.
However, a setting like this, which is secure and intimate, could make the person feel a lot more comfortable in their skin. “I think people are sceptical about online dating, and getting set-up by friends and family. It’s difficult to gauge what one is looking for in a person, when it comes to relationships,” says Dr Mini Rao, a psychologist in the city. “At a singles dinner, you are free to be in your space, talk to people you find interesting, move away if you are not comfortable and seek out other people. Moreover, here everyone knows the other person is single, which is reassuring.” For those wondering what the menu is going to be like (we know you thought about it), there’s Vietnamese grilled chicken, creamy garlic Fettucine, sticky toffee pudding, and more!
The dinner is on November 11 at the English Tea Room. Register at localxo.com at `1,700 per head.