Apps offer singles chance to slow down in quest for love

'Slow dating' movement touts quality over quantity

Raise your hand if you have tried a dating app or know someone using one? Some of the apps reveal dozens, even hundreds of potential matches -- and users swipe, scroll and flip through pictures and screen names.

But now, some apps and programs are offering singles a chance to slow things down in their quest to find love. It’s called “slow dating”.

Emily Stern spent years swiping through profiles of men on dating apps -- and eventually found it exhausting.

“You're just swiping, swiping, swiping. It's kind of mindless," Stern said.

So she decided to try another app, called “The League.”

Users have to apply. The company verifies their identity through their LinkedIn profiles. Once accepted, the app shows users only a few singles a day that its special algorithms think would be a match.

“It was nice to know that these three to five people I was shown each evening were tailored to me as a person," Stern said.

Stern is taking part in a new trend that some call “slow dating.”

Experts said the movement, which touts quality over quantity, is happening both on and offline.

“Slow dating is the idea of having fewer selections of possible dates.You really slow down look at the person's qualities take more time to research them, to connect with them," says clinical psychologist Carla Manly.

To help that connectivity, other apps out there like Appetence, or Once, offer singles one match a day.

And there are even local dating groups and curated meetups, like Pina Colada, where like-minded singles go out to dinner.

Some popular traditional dating sites are offering events, too, such as Match.com’s events.

Manly said her clients tell her they’re liking the change of speed.

“Slow dating is really more compelling to people who want a substantive relationship," she said.

And an experiment backed that up. It found that “online daters who chose from a large set of potential partners were less satisfied with their choice than those who selected from a small set.”

“When we have a vast array of choices, our senses get overwhelmed; we tend to see more superficial qualities," Manly added.

It worked for Stern. Within weeks of using “The League” she met her boyfriend.

“I probably wouldn't have found him were it not for this app," Stern said.

Manly also said the idea of going out and meeting people you have similar interests with is a great way to meet new people. She said you’ll have a common denominator to talk about and share experiences.