TDF
Whether you’re looking for casual sex or a soul mate, there’s bound to be an app for that. Singles all over the world are browsing for similar-minded matches from their smart phones and other digital platforms. It’s a digital revolution that has redefined dating in the modern age.
The documentary profiles one specific sector of this captive audience: the population of over 20 million German speaking singles who are currently looking for love in Europe. They surf through any of 2500 platforms in the hopes of finding just the right connection.
Dating has never been easy. Just take it from Emanuel Albert, an interview subject who’s known as “The Date Doctor”. He makes a living counseling desperate and struggling singles. In this time when you can easily pick up your phone and swipe through a thousand potential suitors, it’s become more of a challenge for his clients to summon up the courage and skills to nurture a more personal and physical connection.
What’s the protocol for online dating? Should you bend the truth to make yourself more appealing in your profile? How can you navigate successfully from small talk to more meaningful communication? There’s a lot of pressure to conform to a certain aesthetic when dating online. Perhaps the biggest challenge of all is learning how to simply be yourself.
The film features interviews with authors, therapists and dating coaches to paint of comprehensive portrait of the pitfalls and triumphs of today’s online dating landscape. Then there’s the business of love and sex in the internet age. The capitalization of our most intimate relationships is troubling to many.
How has online dating affected gender roles when it comes to basic rituals like courtship? Can a relationship truly last when you know there are countless additional contenders you can consider at any time?
This entertaining and illuminating documentary covers all these facets and more. In the end, the experts and everyday singles in the film seem to agree on one thing. Online platforms might have opened the door to an ocean of new possibilities. But it still requires a lot of hard work.
