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Singles Events, Reading
About Our Singles Events in Reading
Singles Events are the best way to meet other unattached people in Reading, particularly if you have a busy schedule. When your life is hectic and you just don't have the time to find a quality date, speed dating is the perfect solution. Speed dating services are a great way to get through the initial interest before a real date stage with a little more speed and accuracy than you may achieve on your own timescale. Our Reading speed dating events are just what they sound like: they speed up the dating process. Research has shown the vast majority of men and women take only seconds to decide if they are attracted to someone and would like to see them again.
Speed dating services will save you time and energy when it comes to finding your perfect date. Meeting singles live and in person is definitely the quickest path from a dateless night to an enjoyably memorable night, whether it is at a speed dating event, a singles party, a wine tasting evening or any other dating event. This site is the best resource around for finding a speed dating event near you. We cover speed dating and singles events across the UK, including Reading, Windsor, London, Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Nottingham and across the UK, to suit you. Check out our dating events listings and you could be dating someone even sooner than you expected!
How Speed Dating Works & History
Speed dating is a matchmaking process or dating system to encourage people to meet a large number of new people. Origins of Speed Dating are credited to Rabbi Yaacov Deyo as a way to ensure more Jewish singles could meet each other. "SpeedDating" - as a single word - is a registered trademark of Aish HaTorah. "Speed Dating", as two separate words, is the generic term for similar events. The first speed-dating event was at Pete’s Café in Beverly Hills in 1998. Several commercial services soon began offering similar speed dating events across the US. By 2000, speed dating had really taken off, perhaps boosted by its portrayal in shows such as Sex and the City as something that glamourous people did. Supporters argue that speed dating saves time, as most people decide if they are romantically compatible very quickly, and first impressions are often permanent.
Speed dating services websites are a great tool if you are single and looking. When a hectic work schedule doesn't leave you much time, speed-dating events can help pick up the slack. It's a great way to get through the initial interest before a real date stage with a little more speed and accuracy than you could achieve on your own timescale. Most speed dating websites still have profiles of thousands of single men and women in your area, but meeting singles live and in person is definitely the quickest path from a dateless night to an enjoyably memorable night. Check them out soon and you could be dating someone even sooner than you expected!
How Speed Dating Works & History
Speed dating is a matchmaking process or dating system to encourage people to meet a large number of new people. Origins of Speed Dating are credited to Rabbi Yaacov Deyo as a way to ensure more Jewish singles could meet each other. "SpeedDating" - as a single word - is a registered trademark of Aish HaTorah. "Speed Dating", as two separate words, is the generic term for similar events. The first speed-dating event was at Pete’s Café in Beverly Hills in 1998. Several commercial services soon began offering similar speed dating events across the US. By 2000, speed dating had really taken off, perhaps boosted by its portrayal in shows such as Sex and the City as something that glamourous people did. Supporters argue that speed dating saves time, as most people decide if they are romantically compatible very quickly, and first impressions are often permanent.
Speed dating services websites are a great tool if you are single and looking. When a hectic work schedule doesn't leave you much time, speed-dating events can help pick up the slack. It's a great way to get through the initial interest before a real date stage with a little more speed and accuracy than you could achieve on your own timescale. Most speed dating websites still have profiles of thousands of single men and women in your area, but meeting singles live and in person is definitely the quickest path from a dateless night to an enjoyably memorable night. Check them out soon and you could be dating someone even sooner than you expected!
Organization
Men and women are rotated to meet each other over a series of short "dates", usually lasting from 3 to 8 minutes depending on the organization running the event. At the end of each interval, the organizer rings a bell or clinks a glass to signal the participants to move on to the next date. At the end of the event participants submit to the organizers a list of who they would like to provide their contact information to. If there is a match, contact information is forwarded to both parties. Contact information cannot be traded during the initial meeting, in order to reduce pressure (especially on women) to accept or reject a suitor to their face.
These events typically require advance registration, often an online prepayment by credit card. However, they may accept a few walk-ins when needed to balance the gender ratio. Some services make use of waitlists when signing up to strive for exactly the same number of men and women, while others have a more "party" atmosphere and only aim for an approximately matching number.
There are many speed dating events now in the UK and the US. Many of these simply specify an age range for ladies and gentlemen; sometimes a slightly older range is specified for men. On the other hand, many organizers offer niche events such as nights for graduates only, gays and lesbians, older men with younger women and vice versa, book lovers, ethnic events, and of course the original niche event, religious affiliation.
Advantages
Proponents of speed dating cite its advantages as:
* It allows singles to meet a large number of new people in one easy event.
* It is especially efficient for busy professionals or those that have limited social circles.
* It levels the playing field for men and women.
* Men do not have to play their traditional role as the aggressor—both men and women are forced to meet and interact.
* The structured interaction helps shy people to overcome their inhibitions.
* The time limit ensures that no one is stuck talking to someone longer than they wish.
* The matching process occurs after the event, ensuring people do not have to face rejection in person. This helps avoid awkward situations and uneasy interactions between participants during the event.
* Participants are almost always guaranteed that the people they meet are single or at least looking. This is generally more difficult to discern when one goes to a bar or a club.
* It is something that women who like to go out in groups can do together.[2]
* Participants are usually grouped in their preferred age range.
* It is cost efficient. Speed dating is essentially numerous dates for the price of one.
Compared to Bars
* There is no need for an opening pick-up line or a wingman to approach someone in order to initiate a chat
* No one person can monopolize chatting with another person, i.e. every guy has an equal opportunity and amount of time allotted to chat with every girlCompared to Clubs
* There is no need to be skilled in dancing (e.g. salsa, swing) in order to meet women and initiate contact
* Clubs usually play loud music which makes chatting difficult
Criticisms/Disadvantages
Critics of speed dating claim:
* It reinforces first impressions, which may not be reliable indicators of long-term compatibility.
* It tends to put less extroverted subjects at a disadvantage.
* Participants who have uneasiness or animosity towards each other are still forced to politely chat with each other in the time allotted. For example, if a girl has already rejected a guy in a previous speed dating event, they are still forced to awkwardly mingle with each other during their speed dating round.
* Feedback / gratification is delayed. Participants normally have to wait a day or two to get the results of a match. In other social events, there is almost instant result once a lady gives her number out to a guy.
* The traditional speed dating model fails to match participants in any meaningful way.
Despite these criticisms, speed dating continues to grow in popularity.
Scientific research
There have been several studies of the round-robin dating systems themselves, as well as studies of interpersonal attraction that are relevant to these events. Other studies found speed-dating data useful as a way to observe individual choices among random participants.
First impressions
A 2005 study at the University of Pennsylvania of a speed dating event found that most people made their choices within the first three seconds of meeting. Furthermore, issues such as religion, previous marriages, and smoking habits were found to play much less of a role than expected. [3] [4]
A 2006 study in Edinburgh, Scotland showed that 45% of the women participants in a speed-dating event and 22% of the men had come to a decision within the first 30 seconds. It also found that dialogue concerning travel resulted in more matches than dialogue about films.[5]
Unconscious preferences
Malcolm Gladwell's book, Blink, introduces two professors at Columbia University who run speed-dating events. The professors found, from having the participants fill out questionnaires, that what people said they wanted in an ideal mate did not match their unconscious preferences.
Olfaction and the MHC
A 1995 study at the University of Bern showed that women appear to be attracted to the smell of men who have different MHC profiles from their own, and that oral contraceptives reversed this effect.[8]
The MHC is a region of the human genome involved with immune function. Because parents with more diverse MHC profiles would be expected to produce offspring with stronger immune systems, dissimilar MHC may play a role in sexual selection.
A speed "date" lasting several minutes should be long enough for the MHC hypothesis to come into play, provided the participants are seated close enough together.
Olfaction and pheromones
The TV newsmagazine 20/20 once sent both a male and a female set of twins to a speed dating event. One of each set was wearing pheromones, and the ones wearing pheromones received more matches[9].
Age and height preference
A 2006 study at the University of Essex and the IZA in Bonn [10] into the relative effects of preference versus opportunity in mate selection showed, while concluding that opportunity was more important than preference, that a woman's age is the single most important factor determining demand by men. Although it is less important for men, age is still a highly significant factor determining demand by women.
The same study found that a man's height had a significant impact upon his desirability, with a reduction in height causing a decrease in desirability at the rate of 5% per inch.
Pickiness
The same study at the University of Essex determined that women tended to be more picky than men were in the choice or desirable partners.
In popular culture
Speed dating has been featured in several television programs and movies:
Television
* Sex and the City "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" (2000): Miranda, the lawyer, pretends to be a stewardess at the event. See the full synopsis of this episode here.
* Providence "The Mating Dance" (2001): Syd goes to a "speed dating" event.
* Kath and Kim "Gay" (2002): Kim, estranged from her husband of 2 months, goes with her friend Sharon to a speed dating event.
* Reba "Switch" (2002) : Reba's daughter, Cheyenne, convinces her mother to try speed-dating.
* Gilmore Girls "But Not as Cute as Pushkin" (2004): Featured Rory's friend Paris attempting speed dating after the death of her professor boyfriend, but finding herself frustrated with the lacking dating pool and elusive conversation.
* Dead Like Me "Hurry" (2004): Daisy goes speed dating to take the soul of one of the men participating.
* Queer Eye for the Straight Guy "Queer Eye For The Shy Guy" (2004): featured a straight man that the Fab 5 made over to go to a HurryDate speed dating party.
* 60 Minutes II "60 Minutes II" (2004): Featured speed dating in the segment called "Love in the 21st Century"
* Beauty and the Geek "Episode 204" (2006): Featured speed dating as one of the challenges faced by the "geeks".
* The L Word "Lifeline" (2006): Alice and Kit go to a speed dating event.
* Simpsons "Regarding Margie" (2006): Marge Simpson, during a bout of amnesia, went on a speed-dating event.
* Sabrina the Teenage Witch: Sabrina and Josh host a speed-dating event at the coffee shop.
* The Bill "Episode 405" (2006): Yvonne Hemmingway persuades Honey Harman to go with her to a speed-dating event.
* Various dating game shows such as The 5th Wheel
* Music video "You" (2006): performed by R&B artist Lloyd featuring Lil Wayne
Movies
* Hitch (2005)
* The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
Theatre
* Speed Dating - The Play. Richard Huish College, Taunton, December 2006. Written and directed by Rebecca Ngakane. Part of the college's Dramafest for new writing.
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