By Karmel Harper | [email protected]

Since the emergence of the internet, dating has never been the same. Before 1995, when Match.com, the first online dating platform, was launched, singles met each other via mutual set-ups, at work or school, social events, or random meets at the local club, bar, grocery store, or other venues where two people were lucky enough to be at the same place, at the same time. 

As texting wasn’t mainstream until the late 1990s, singles actually had to call each other to connect and plan dates. Waiting a few days between contact was typical and even expected. In 1997, Nokia introduced the first phone with a built-in keyboard. 

According to Paige Roosien, who wrote a June 2015 SignalVine article, text messaging took off at the start of the millennium once people could text friends on different networks. Roosien said, “By 2002, more than 250 billion SMS messages were sent worldwide. By 2007, the number of texts sent each month surpassed the number of phone calls. Eventually, text messaging was officially the preferred way of communicating with friends and family.” 

The ease and instant communication of texting has propelled online dating as the No. 1 method for people to meet their significant others. According to Statista.com, the most popular dating apps as of April 2021 based on the number of downloads are: 

1) Tinder - 1.1 million

2) Bumble - 564,000

3) Hinge - 393,000

4) Badoo - 207,000

5) Match - 125,000

6) OkCupid - 109,000  

7) eHarmony - 67,000

8) Coffee Meets Bagel - 39,000

9) happn - 34,000

A 2019 study conducted by theknot.com surveyed over 10,000 recently married or engaged couples and found that 22% of them met online, with 30% of the spouses meeting on Tinder. Another 14% found success on OkCupid, and 13% met their matches on Bumble. But if swiping right, sending “winks,” or texting a kissy-face emoji to get someone’s attention is not your thing, do not despair. The study revealed that 19% of couples met through mutual friends, 17% met at school, and 13% met at work. And 11% met at a social setting like a bar, concert, or party. For busy professionals serious about finding their perfect partner, hiring a professional matchmaker can be effective. Though the term may evoke images of Yente from “Fiddler on the Roof” with its associated catchy tune, modern professional matchmakers are devoted to learning how and why relationships form, grow, and last. They work closely with their clients to discover their true qualities and build deep, working relationships to find them their most compatible matches. They also work as coaches to empower their clients with confidence and authenticity they can present on dates. 

Herriman resident Mia McKinney is a professional matchmaker who successfully coaches clients to master first dates and empowers them to approach a second date.“My job is to vet prospective matches for my clients, so they don’t have to waste their time doing that. My clients are primarily professionals and executives who don’t have the time to text all day or go on endless first dates,” McKinney said.

McKinney said one of the biggest mistakes people make on first dates is looking too far ahead to see if their date will make a good spouse, parent, or long-term companion. “The primary goal of a first date,” McKinney said, “is to see if you would like to meet for a second date.” 

While McKinney’s matchmaking services are offered through a firm that does not service Utah, she is available to locals as a professional Date Coach to assist with online profile creations or improvements and one-on-one date coaching. You can contact her at [email protected]. With Valentine’s Day around the corner, or as Kaysville’s Kevin Wood calls it, “Singles Awareness Day,” ‘tis the season for Cupid’s arrow to fly. Whether it’s online, through mutual friends, at work or school, or with the help of a professional matchmaker, there are many ways for that arrow to strike.