For a brief moment, TikToker Emma (@emma_brott) felt hopeful when she met a guy at the thrift store. She thought it would be something like a meet-cute straight out of a rom-com.
But she quickly learned that it doesn’t matter where you meet someone. There are weirdos all around.
So, they exchanged phone numbers and texted for a while. After a long pause in their conversation, she asked him if he still wanted to get drinks later. He had mentioned the idea earlier. He agreed, but said that it had to be an early date. So, they planned to meet up at 6 p.m.
When she showed up at the bar, he wasn’t there yet. He finally arrived 12 minutes later. He wasn’t super late, but Emma was annoyed that he had kept her waiting. They ordered their drinks and then went up to the rooftop.
They started getting to know each other. He told her that he was a therapist and made them pause and take a moment to let that fact sink in, which seemed very performative to her.
“Like, there’s no way I’m going on these dates where people are doing stuff like this, but they are; they literally are,” said Emma.
“So, I just sit there with a straight face and act like I didn’t already know he was a therapist because obviously I’m stalking him beforehand.”
She noted that he was doing a lot of active listening, but for a therapist, he wasn’t really asking her questions back. It felt ironic, given his profession.
Next, they got onto the topic of what they were looking for when it comes to dating. Emma explained that she was only dating people she meets in person because she has had trouble with dating apps in the past.
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He said that he was “not into the whole traditional style of dating” and was more into “interpersonal connections fueled by shared experience.”
The wordy answer sounded fancy, but it seemed to her that he was merely looking to hook up, just packaged in a flowery way. Emma was back home on her couch by 7:22 p.m.
It’s safe to say that the date was basically a total bust and did not go very well.
“I’m just a bit frustrated because I thought that going on dates with people I met in person would have a better outcome for me, and I thought that maybe not being on Hinge was going to be better,” said Emma.
“But it’s like the guys I’ve gone on dates with that I met in person are just as bad as the guys I’ve met on Hinge. And so it’s like, what am I even doing this for?”
Overall, Emma found that changing her method of dating does not necessarily change the outcome. Now, she’s contemplating taking a permanent break from dating.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
