Although Boston’s college students can meet potential dates on their social scenes, many dating services in the city offer students the chance to find romance in more alternative ways.
Susan Baxter, founder and CEO of Hire a Boston Wingwoman, said her service makes it easier for clients to meet people in Boston.
“I felt as though a lot of people are not able to just go up to someone at a bar,” she said. “A lot of people don’t have confidence, and sometimes they just need their hand held.”
Baxter said her service functions as an icebreaker.
“We do the hard work by starting the conversation at social events,” she said. “Some women have confessed that when they see a guy with a pretty girl they say, ‘wow, that’s a pretty girl, so that guy knows what he is doing.’ So it is better for the guys.”
Baxter said her service provides people having a hard time getting to know people in public an ice-breaker to start a conversation smoothly.
National dating coach Adam LoDolce, originally based in Boston, offers services through his website that allow people to learn dating skills and apply them in practical ways.
“I have events like meet-and-greets, and I help people overcome their fears,” he said. “I teach people skills and tools to find the right person.”
LoDolce also offers dating boot camps in Boston and one-on-one dating coaches for men and women.
“Boston is a great place to meet people because there are so many single people here,” he said.
Speed-dating services such as 8minuteDating and SpeedBoston Dating hold dates at certain venues throughout the city, including The Brahmin and Fire & Ice.
LoDolce said speed dating is a fantastic way to meet people because partakers step out of their comfort zone in order to participate.
“Speed dating is great, and it really helps,” he said. “You have to learn how to leave a lasting first impression on someone and it is really great practice.”
Online dating, he said, is not very useful for some people because they are not learning many social dating skills.
Boston University is included on websites such as DateMySchool.com, where students can meet people on campus in order to build a connection without traveling far.
College of Communication sophomore Andrew Caplan said he became aware of the service through ads around the BU campus and finds the site useful despite any stigma.
“To me it was important to look for someone on campus, because with all the classes and clubs I do during the school year, if I want to pursue a relationship it would be most convenient if there were people also on campus,” he said.
Caplan said it is common for students to assume online dating is “desperate and weak” because not taking the extra step to meet people seems lazy.
But not everyone is lucky enough to go to a party and happen to meet someone they like, he said.
“These sites do a fairly good job at playing matchmaker,” he said.
Despite that initiation is done alone in front of a computer, he said dating sites motivate people to get out and meet other single people.
“It’s not as lazy as people would think,” he said. “Some sites are there to get you to meet people and share interests, and make you go outside and meet them.”
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