Speed dating isn’t quick in finding romance

LONDON - Speed dating, considered to be a rapid way to find romance, may not be as quick as its name suggests, a media report said Sunday.

It takes an average of 75 hours and costs 500 pounds to find a new love and finding a sexual partner takes 50 hours of taking part in the dating game, new research has shown on the phenomenon where men and women have barely a few minutes to impress prospective partners, Daily Mail reported.

A speed-dating environment using 384 volunteers was simulated by professors at Germany’s Humboldt university.

The dating was in booths. Men spent three minutes talking to each woman and then recording their choices on a scorecard.

Questionnaires were filled out six weeks and then a year later. After six weeks, 15 said they had found a sexual partner from the event while 25 said they were in a developing relationship, the media report said.

The number in a relationship was just 17 after one year. The researchers observed that as events last about three hours and cost about 20 pounds, finding a partner may cost 500 pounds.

“Ive had a few dates, but nothing amounted to anything long-term. I dont go any more. The figures dont surprise me,” Maria Woods who has been to several events in Britain in the past five years and spent hundreds of pounds was quoted as saying.