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Dating fatigue? This is the real-life antidote to apps that Millennials have been waiting for
It can leave us questioning our worth, our value, and if we're even lovable.
Dating fatigue? This is the real-life antidote to apps that Millennials have been waiting for
The world's biggest social experiment is currently taking place for singles and it doesn't require a dating app at all.
21 March 2023
During the pandemic, we sat on dating apps - swiping left and right - until our thumbs hurt. And in fact, even before COVID hit, Millennials have been relying on apps like Tinder, Bumble, Hinge and Thursdays to meet hook-ups, boyfriends, girlfriends and, dare we say it, The One. Some have had success, some have had success for a little while before finding themselves back online reading pithy answers to questions like ‘what is your worst habit?’ and others have never really ever come off them.
And the thing is, yes, we'll say it: we're bored. We're tired of dating apps. Sure, they have served their purpose in the past, but with more Millennials and Gen Z'ers feeling lonelier than ever before, is there an argument for - shock, horror - returning to meeting IRL?
If you're nodding ferociously to all the above then fear not, because the world's biggest social experiment is currently taking place for singles and it doesn't require a dating app at all. Welcome: the Pear Ring - a small, blue-light ring that makes it easy to see who is single around you, allowing you to make new connections more naturally while out and about. Think of it like the opposite of an engagement ring for single people. and the company claims that they have sold around 83% of their original stock.
It can leave us questioning our worth, our value, and if we're even lovable.
The product is marketed through their Instagram page, @biggestsocialexperiment and their mission is to stop the use of dating apps and encourage people to step out and meet new people in real life so singles don’t have to depend on dating apps and pay for pointless subscriptions to find love. “If 1.2 billion singles around the world wore a little green ring on their finger to show they’re single, we wouldn't need dating apps. IRL connection is the mission," the site states.
The brand suggest users wear the ring all the time. “In a bar, on a train, at the gym, on vacation, at your friend’s wedding, in a restaurant, walking to work. The world 🌎 is your playground,” they say on their website.
Ring holders, who can buy theirs for £19.99, will be issued a unique membership number, "get invited to PearFest + get access to exclusive free events in your city.” And, according to the website, 91% of them are already sold out.
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The idea is simple (unlike most other aspects of dating): you simply see a person wearing the ring and know that's your cue to make conversation, and Pubity's post on the new experiment elicited a huge number of responses, nearly 6,000 of them to be precise. Some were excited by the concept: “Unreal, can you make different coloured ones for different sexualities,” wrote one Instagram follower, a second commenting: “Not me wanting a ring for each finger to make sure people don't miss it.”
However, others weren't quite so impressed with the new concept: “Color blind peeps are gonna be in for a rough time,” commented a user, while another added: “We 100 percent are living in a simulation." And some pointed out that wearing the ring could highlight a person as ‘available’ in such a way that it could possibly lead to miscommunication and unintended, or intended, harassment: “Only dudes will wear these. Women don't need another reason to be solicited,” someone wrote, another chiming in: "I feel like some people might see the ring as a green light to not leave others alone, wear with caution".
If Bridget Jones joined Hinge and found everything but love.
What do you think? If you don't currently like anyone, should you put a ring on it? We're not entirely convinced. Of course, everyone has the right to choose what's best for them, but we think we'd prefer to join singles' nights and IRL events organised by dating clubs and concierges in a monitored, safe space. If you do want to find out more though, you can find info on the brand's private Instagram account here.
‘Please provide a one to two sentence explanation as to why.’