The Dating Game

After watching the oh-so-exciting finale of The Bachelorette Monday night, I left the TV on the ABC channel while I paid some bills. The next show was called Dating in the Dark, and I gradually started paying attention. The premise is this: each week three men and three women are put into a pitch black room where they get acquainted through conversation--not by seeing each other. The audience can see them on infrared cameras. Each of the "contestants" can request one-on-one dates in the darkroom with people they want to get to know better. It worked out this week that each guy/girl was interested in a different person, so there were 3 distinct couples almost from the beginning. Besides conversation, they got to look through each other's luggage, feel hair and faces, and sneak a few pats on the butt during the darkroom activities.
Finally each couple had the opportunity to see what their date looked like and decide if they wanted to continue dating. All three women wanted to pursue the relationships after seeing the men. Ironically, one guy who had portrayed himself as being very particular about a woman's looks still wanted to date a girl whose appearance didn't fit his idea of the ideal. The second couple also decided to date some more, but the third guy left without the girl. Even though he thought she was cute, he didn't think they were compatible because of her deep religious views.
I have been out of the dating scene for over 25 years, so I'm certainly no expert. But I have to wonder why all these seemingly normal, attractive people have to resort to TV shows to find dates. Some of them were in their early 30s, so maybe they are afraid that time is running out for finding a spouse and having kids.
I know someone who uses internet dating sites and has met a couple guys through that route. She says that for 20-somethings, unless you want to hang out in bars waiting for Mr. Right, there aren't many good ways to meet people. Is this really the case? I'm just curious, because things have changed so much since the early '80s. We didn't have online match-making, speed dating, or reality shows to facilitate relationships--just blind dates, arranged marriages, and mail-order brides.
As I continue to ponder these phenomena, let me give you a preview of next week's Dating in the Dark. This time all three women will be interested in the same man. One of them wonders aloud: "What if the three of us fight for this guy and he ends up being a troll?" Ahh, that timeless question.