Dating in the 21st century is something akin to hurtling through a minefield blindfolded.
Dating apps, which purport to make the whole thing easier have arguably just lead to a whole new series of pitfalls and challenges, not least on the part of women, who are forced to deal with unsolicited pictures and "you up" messages at 1am from someone they've never, in fact, met.
No longer do we shuffle over to an attractive stranger in a dimly-lit bar and ask whether they'd like us to pay for their next drink in the vain hope that they might fancy us back; instead, we swipe endlessly, left and right, with glassy-eyed abandon, and expect to find 'the one' somewhere in between that 90 degree thumb movement. A recipe for love? Who knows.
Well anyway, if you want a truly damning indictment of the modern dating game, then look no further than at the hilarious ad a father took out in a newspaper in the hope of playing matchmaker for his three single sons.
"Hello Parents. We are from the States (Oregon), visiting your beautiful country. My wife and I have three wonderful, successful, handsome, alas unmarried, sons between the ages of 28-32.
‘We are not expecting, just hoping, to introduce our sons to nice NZ daughters. At the very least, we’ll embarrass our sons, and the truth is we do find some enjoyment in that."
Neil, father to three sons: Benjamin, Jeremy and Matthew, says that he has had more than 200 responses since the advert was posted and hopes that the interest will help them form some lasting bonds in New Zealand. As he told the NZ Herald:
"We like to travel and I have gone with my kids to Europe, Australia and Japan, but we have never really interacted with anybody and in my mind I was just interested in them getting to know people, meeting people their age, and maybe develop some lasting, permanent relationships.
"I have never done anything like this before and they don’t know. They are clueless, which I love. ‘I’m somewhat surprised that I have got quite a lot of responses.
"It is hard to tell how many are genuine. A few are maybe just scammers but for the most part people are really amazingly nice in your country."
In fact, Neil says one of his sons does use dating apps to meet women, but hasn't had a serious relationship in a while. Clearly, he's decided to take matters into his own hands;
"I know one of my sons uses these dating sites and is always going on introductory dates and meeting somebody, but he hasn't had a serious relationship in quite a while.
"I decided to help. I have no idea what will happen, but at least we will be able to meet some people."
Could this be the future of dating? Let your dad do all the hard work and then swoop in at the end to go on the actual date? Reader, I'm not convinced.
