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It's just so much easier to do it using an app. You are pretty much guaranteed that people you match with are also looking for something similar or at least open to the idea. No guessing or attending places for sole reason of hunting down a partner, which is quite creepy anyways. It's definitely possible to find some without an app, but not everyone is willing to just wait for that magical moment of meeting the right person at the right time.

There are always people fishing IRL :) I'd argue that you have better chances compared to an app since you are there in person compared to a digital profile. It's more memorable.

It always took practice to be good at this, but apps made a lot of people lazy so I'm not sure about trends.

I suspect apps are icebreakers for people (arguably) not great at meeting people.

easier said than done