A sober date may increase your chances of a second, according to survey

• Greetings card marketplace, thortful, polled 2,000 Brits on their idea of the ickiest first date
• Escape rooms are the ‘ickiest’ first date
• Sober dating is the new trend, with most people preferring coffee dates or a walk

As Tinder shares that users send 58.7 million more likes between New Year’s Day and February 14th than the rest of the year¹, it’s likely that many of us will score a date this Valentine’s Day.

But it’s important not to fall at the first hurdle, and according to greetings card marketplace, thortful, picking the right date will be key for increasing your chances of a second.

To help daters increase their chances of a second meet up, thortful polled 2,000 brits on their worst idea of a first date with someone they were meeting in person for the first time, the following were revealed as the top five to avoid:

Unfortunately, if you love a puzzle, you might want to save the escape room for date two or three, as a quarter of respondents to thortful’s survey said this would be their worst idea of a first date. The thought of being inescapably stuck with a terrible first date is haunting, after all.

Taking the second spot is being invited to watch someone do something – in fact, of the Gen Z respondents, this was the worst, with 27% voting it to the top spot. Watching someone show off their skills on the first date is just too much of an ick!

Sober dating is the new trend.

When asked what their ideal first date would be, the usual ‘drinks at a bar’ wasn’t everyone’s go-to. In fact, the most popular choices were meeting for a coffee (39.9%) and going for a casual walk (39.2%). Sober dating has been a dating phenomenon taking over the dating scene since the pandemic, with 50% of women and 28% of men stating they never drink on a first date anymore².

However, dating etiquette expert, Siobhan Copland, from Cupid in the City, says activity dates are less pressure if you’re feeling particularly nervous or you’re new to the dating scene.

“I am quite fond of activity-based dates. It gives you a focal point of discussion and helps you to be present, and not go into interview mode of asking a bunch of questions which can be quite intense. So, I think, particularly if you are someone who gets quite nervous on dates, I would suggest an activity which you can focus on and focus on the fun.”

Visit here for Valentine’s Card inspiration: https://www.thortful.com/cards/valentines-day