[efa]

Aren't bars similar to dating sites? A forum for men to compete with other men for women. I would think they'd have better luck with group activities (rec sports, craft/hobby stuff) or online groups devoted to something (restaurant enthusiasts, etc).

[m_dupont]

Yes, but the crucial difference is that online you're competing with everyone else in your city, in a bar you're only competing with the other guys in the bar.

There's a strong winner-takes-all effect online

[astura]

Nightclubs, yeah, most bars aren't nightclubs though.

Bars are a fairly decent place for low stakes socialization, at the very least.

In person dynamics are just different - I met my husband in a bar. At the time neither of us were looking to date anyone for various reasons but we happened to get chatting and our chemistry was immediately apparent. If he were exactly the same person but I first "met" him as a dating profile on the screen I almost certainly would have passed.

[Der_Einzige]

In regular bars it's downright rude to walk up to most groups if you're not in that group, and good luck finding a single woman drinking by herself.

In night clubs? Better hope you've hit the gym for the last month...

[yCombLinks]

There is much less competition in a bar. Very rarely would an attractive guy in a bar be picking up 3 or 4 women at the same time. So those women would be forced to not choose anyone, or choose a different man. Next, an attractive man can only "court" a very small actual number of women in a physical real time setting, vs online.

[damascus]

Not really the same at all. People in bars tend to be much more willing to engage with others than they are on the apps. Its very easy to set insanely high standards when the next person is only a swipe away.. compared to in person you can see 'these are all of my options so pick someone and see how it goes'