LOVE IT TO LEAVE IT

Aimless conversations on dating apps have led fatigued singles to question: Is finding love even worth the effort?

- BARRY RODGERS

On an intensely cold night in the east end of London, Hitanshi Kamdar, a 23-year-old postgraduate student of Central Saint Martins, lined up for admission outside Nikki’s Bar in Shoreditch, with her girlfriends. After each of them were asked to provide documentation for entry, they eased their way into a space that offers a mixture of soft touches, trash TV, and garish pops of colour. It’s no wonder the creators cite Quentin Tarantino’s films as a major source of inspiration for the decor. There’s even a bed...that’s right, a PVC-covered bed, if you’re looking for a photo op.

Kamdar and her friends had signed up for a singles’ mixer organised by Thursday, a dating app where, as the name suggests, singles can only match and meet through the app on Thursdays. When the clock strikes midnight, users toggle an icon to indicate that they’re ready to date that day. Then, for 24 hours, they can swipe and chat as on other dating sites. When Thursday becomes Friday, however, their matches are wiped, and the app locks. The implication is that there’s no time to waste with chitchat; making a date is now or never.

To encourage IRL meetings, Thursday hosts events in London and New York, the two cities where the app has currently made inroads.