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What is hobby dating and why is it gaining popularity?
What is hobby dating? Thanks for asking. Perhaps you've already experienced that awkward feeling on a first date when you don't really know what to say to each other. Having a drink or going to a restaurant are great activities, but they don't always add much to the conversation.
So if you run out of questions, you're often just left staring into each other's eyes and hoping for an opportunity to arise so that you might make a quick getaway. But this might be soon a thing of the past with the rise of the hobby date. In other words, a date organised around an activity.
What does this involve?
The idea is to introduce your date to something that you already enjoy and share the experience together. This can take completely different forms depending on each person's taste. It might be a cultural outing to a museum, a hike in nature, an arts and crafts class or even a cookery lesson.
The idea is to choose an activity that you love or are curious about and then invite your partner to take part in it with you. Let's say you book a beginner painting course. It's fun, creative and creates an opportunity for you to have a shared experience. And so, as well as creating a new memory together, it also allows you to see your date in a different context to the usual first date venue.
Didn't this already exist before? Yes, hobby dating is not new, but it has seen a surge in popularity and that might be down to COVID. During the various confinements, many people experimented with new activities as a way of keeping themselves busy and passing the time. But although the lockdown ended, our interest in our new hobbies continued.
Naomi Walkland, the vice president of Bumble in Europe, noticed that before the pandemic, the norm was to meet up in a bar or cafe. But that nowadays, people are keen to share their interests from the get-go. Consequently, on Bumble, the dating app, you can now indicate what your hobbies are.
So whether you're into cookery, photography or crafting, you can share your interests with your potential partner and hopefully avoid those awkward first dates. Do some activities stand out? Yes and no. It depends on the country and the kind of place people are meeting. In cities, cultural events are very popular and those living in nature choose more sporty events.
In the USA, hobbies such as DIY, arts and crafts and board games have seen the biggest rise in popularity.
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