Single man, 34. I've been single for a long time. Since 2020, after years of being very happily single, I realised that I was ready to meet someone and date again.

I'm on two dating apps, and do my best to try and meet people in the real world. So far, I've had zero dates and zero prospects, aside from some dating app convos where I got ghosted after a day or so. That was until this week.

I matched with a girl in my city on Sunday night. Turns out we have a lot in common, conversation never stopped, and we made plans to meet for a first date on Friday. She became quiet with me yesterday (Wednesday), replies were shorter and non-committed. Then today (Thursday), I ask if we sre still on for Friday. Suddenly she says that I seem like a great guy, but as the week has progressed, she thinks she's not quite ready for a relationship. We'd said since the start that we would take things slow and go from there without pressure, so it was a surprise to read this reply.

Long story short, I feel drained after what was a very promising week for a date. The last minute change of heart from her has me considering whether most people are doing the same thing: avoiding any real-life connection (one of the main reasons I hate dating apps in general)

Why should I bother when chances are the next person is going to do the same thing?