Reading: #123: Reinventing How We Date Over Age 40 And In The COVID-19 Era (Andrea McGinty)

“I’ve set up over 33,000 dates. And I’m responsible for 4200 marriages.” So says Andrea McGinty, founder of 33000dates.com who says she knows how to psych out the online dating sites in a sophisticated — and now during COVID-19, safe — manner. “It’s about being proactive. If you’re in your 40s or 50s you have to learn to work the system.” McGinty says there are 104 million single people and “great men out there.” But the number one factor for success is to set the filters and, counterintuitively, ignore all those who respond in the first round. Answer those in the next round instead. Then, “Do a 5 to 10 minute FaceTime call or video chat — very safe,” she says. “Do[es the guy] look like his photo? What are his mannerisms? Does he smile? Do you like his eyes?” Keeping it short is the key. “You’re not looking for a chat buddy,” McGinty says. “The longer you stay on the phone with someone having fun, the higher your expectations for the date.” McGinty, who created and sold the dating site for busy professionals called “It’s Just Lunch”, says that during the pandemic you can use attitudes toward social distancing as a cue: ask the potential date how they feel about social distancing. What do they do? “You’ll know if this is a safe person you want to meet” for an outdoor brunch, walk, or sitting around a fire pit.