While scrolling on her phone one day, Jenna Ruby stumbled across Thursday Dating, a global company hosting lively meet-up style events in cities all over the world, that provocatively encourages singles to say, “F*ck dating apps.”
“I actually saw a TikTok video of a Thursday Dating event, and I thought, oh, hey, like I’m single. That looks cool. I’d like to go to that.” says Ruby, “I mean, I’m sick of the apps. I don’t even go on them because they’re so awful, and I’d love to just go out and meet people.”
The dating service’s videos online show people laughing and talking, making real-life connections.
Thursday Dating aims to overcome the online dating fatigue that comes with endless swiping, sudden ghosting and having the same uninspiring and repetitive conversations multiple times a day.
Ruby checked out Thursday Dating’s website to find their next event in Calgary only to see the new service hadn’t reached Calgary. That’s how she became the company’s first Calgary host.
“As the host for the city, you do everything for that specific city. So you’re kind of the host and the representative for events,” Ruby says.
“I work with all the venues, set up our events, scanning tickets and trying to matchmake a little bit,” she adds.
Thursday Dating offers singles in Calgary an alternative to getting back into the dating scene with, in-person, face-to-face meetings — and absolutely no algorithms are used to connect people, unlike the embedded ones often used in online dating apps.
So, what’s the problem with dating today?
When online dating was first introduced, it opened up a whole world for single people to use and make new connections with people they likely would have never crossed paths with.
“People are craving it [authenticity], craving authentic connections. And not just in relationships, just in every relationship.”
Ken Fierheller, Owner of One Life Counselling & Coaching
Even though dating via tech was a revolution then, singles such as Ruby think the entire experience is becoming more draining than rewarding. “I think everyone is pretty sick of the apps,” says Ruby.
“It’s a little bit more challenging today because of technology, because of the dating apps. I think it’s really hard to really see if you have a connection with someone by a photo and by, a prompt, you know, and by a short little profile.”
Ken Fierheller, the owner of One Life Counselling & Coaching in Calgary and a registered psychotherapist and coach, often works with people looking for help with dating and building healthier relationships with others and their selves.
Fierheller often sees clients and loved ones expressing the same feelings of frustration that Ruby shares.
“There have been a lot of challenges over the years, but I would say I noticed a shift around Covid, so around Covid, everyone, it just became like a tsunami of folks who were coming in describing horror stories of just feeling like they were getting ghosted. People weren’t taking accountability,” Fierheller says.
“I think when you get fatigued in a system, and that’s the way I would describe it as it’s just a system. We start to build up resistance to, ‘Oh God, here we go again’ […] I think the fatigue part is influencing people where they’re just, having a tough time showing up with excitement and being open.”
A word that Fierheller hears so often in his practice is “authenticity” and the yearning that people have to find another person who is also showing up as their most authentic selves.
“People are craving it, craving authentic connections. And not just in relationships, just in every relationship.”
“Collisions of opportunity” is what Kierheller references whenever someone implies that they never meet people.
“If you don’t have any collisions for opportunity, you can’t have an expectation that you’re going to meet someone”
Fierheller explains that singles looking for relationships need to put themselves out where other people are, whether that is meetup groups, bars, workshops or any activity that connects you with other people in person.
It’s even better when the activity is just as much for yourself as it is about finding a date. When people show up authentically, says Fierheller, they have a greater opportunity to build meaningful connections from those experiences.
In chimes Thursday Dating
Thursday Dating partners with local restaurants, bars, fitness studios, clubs and all types of venues to create a variety of engaging environments for singles to meet, feeling confident that the others in attendance are also going to be single and looking to date as well.
The dating service aims to eliminate awkward questions like the “What are you looking for?” and the “Oops, sorry! I’m already in a relationship” conversation.
“Everyone’s different in terms of their preferences and how they like to date and how they like to connect with people,” says Ruby.
Thursday Dating’s Calgary calendar features events for people of different ages, interests, and sexual preferences.
“One thing that I really love as a host is just seeing people in Calgary, like, connect and talk to each other,” says Ruby.
“Sometimes you meet someone, and maybe the person you end up dating is actually a friend of theirs who wasn’t even at the event.”
Additional information:
Find more information about Thursday Dating and upcoming events here.
Find more information about Ken Fierheller and One Life Counselling & Coaching here.
Thursday Calgary Socials:
Thursday Global Socials: