I’m not much of a dating website person. As I’ve noted in the past, whatever it takes to create a compelling profile, I ain’t got it. The few guys I’ve messaged never replied, and the guys who messaged me were less than compelling. I have actually had a conversation that went like this (note: he initiated):
Me: So what do you do?
Him: Oh, this and that.
Me: Like what? Just give me an example.
Him: Well, I’m flying to Colorado on business this week.
Me: Cool. What for?
Him: Oh, this and that.
Me: So you deal weed?
Him: What? What are you saying? Why would you think that? Can’t a guy fly to Colorado without being accused of dealing marijuana? What kind of girl are you?
Me: The kind that likes non-evasive answers.
My singles event experience (only one!) wasn’t much better. Not that there was anything wrong with the event. I just tend to get quieter in inverse proportion to the number of strangers in the room, and there were about two hundred of those. There’s also a distinct bias at these events against people who aren’t preschool teachers and social workers, and that doesn’t help my case. But most of all, there seems to be a bias in who shows up.
There are three types of people in the world: those that go to singles events, those that have gone to one or two and will never go again, and those that don’t go to singles events.
Every event is a mix of groups one and two, and as a result, you tend to see the same people over and over again. In some ways, this is nice: it’s like meeting old friends. Also, it narrows down the field you have to play. (It also increases the competition, as you all avoid eye contact and rush to corner the new blood.) At the same time, it narrows your world. “Is this it?” you wonder. “Are these 30 men all I have to choose from?” It gets depressing.
Whenever a new venue opens, everyone who goes to singles events perks up. “Hey, it’s a new event by a new organization!” they think. “Maybe there will be new people!” And they all rush off to sign up. And there always are new people. But there are always the old people too. “Seriously,” you think. “That socially awkward guy must go to every event. He doesn’t have a chance. He should just give up.” Then you realize that someone might be thinking something similar about you.
Dating websites, I hear, have the same dynamic. “You’ve got mostly the same people on Frumster and JDate,” a friend explained. “Like, 40% overlap. And then I joined ZivugZone thinking it would be new people, and it mostly wasn’t. They just had different usernames.”
Maybe it’s time for us to just admit it: there really just aren’t a whole lot of frum Jewish singles in the world. You’ve seen the selection. Now make a choice. You can settle for someone in marriage, or you can settle for being single. Or you can keep marching the singles circuit forever.
Bad for Shidduchim 
Oy, scary stuff… I think I’d rather settle for a non-observant authentic Jewess. One can try to marry someone more frum than you, on the other hand it seems this is the one critical criteria that I need to ‘settle’ on.
so? pick someone already,or give up the search!
One singles event was enough for the rest of my life, I think.
I keep seeing different people on different (Israeli) dating sites, though.
Chananya Weissman has a good critique of singles events an suggestions about how to make them better in his new book, The EndTheMadness Guide to the Shidduch World. (You can purchase the book here: http://chananyaweissman.com/book.php?id=3 or the kindle edition here: http://www.amazon.com/EndTheMadness-Guide-Shidduch-Chananya-Weissman-ebook/dp/B00HX40X6W/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1391010179&sr=1-2)
Or you can get more open minded and marry a divorcee or widower- probably won’t be hanging out at singles events
I’m the second group. I’ve been to one because a few married friends decided to drag me in and all be my wing men (they thought it would be humorous – I don’t think they all told their wives they went). I did meet one girl and we started talking, but it turns out one of my married friends who was supposed to be my wing man walked over to us, and as he knew her, started chatting with her for the next 20 minutes and I got pushed to the side! 🙂
I dont really understand why it matters if someone is religious or not. I mean, we’re small enough as is, why the unecessary further divide?
Ill give myself as example: I am 24 (and yes do look wayy older than my age, which was why College was more fun) , single, Jewish, and I actually want to go out with a religious girl. I just relate more with “old school” values and sensibilities. However, I am non religious by choice mainly due to certain issues I have with mainstream thought. That wont change with meeting someone religious. However, I have no problem adopting a religious home for someone truly special.
I have several Jewish guy friends who have expressed the same sentinent as myself involving the non-religious croud. I just wish that the religious croud was less judgemental and gave things a chance.