Who needs to swipe right when you can swipe a salad to find a man?
Dating apps are dead, DMs are creepy and no one approaches people out in the wild anymore. The majority of single people complain that the dating scene is the toughest it’s ever been, especially in New York City.
So, how are people supposed to meet their suitor in today’s digital dating world?
Well, desperate times call for desperate measures — women are supposedly stealing men’s lunches in Midtown Manhattan for a chance at love.
TikTokker Nicole Or — who goes by @nicoleee461 — claimed that she’s heard of single women popping into a Midtown lunch spot during the work week to steal finance bros’ salads and then use the name on the order to look them up on LinkedIn to message them.
She said the women will reach out to the guys, saying something along the lines of “Hey, oh my God. So sorry. I grabbed your salad. Let me just make it up to you and buy you a new one.”
“It’s rough out here,” she captioned the video.
“Why can’t they just come up to us at a bar?” she complained. “Why is it getting to this point?”
“Men, please step up or your salad is gonna f-cking get taken.”
The Post did not come across any videos of women saying they’ve actually pursued a potential date this way.
Lettuce be real — meet-cutes are wilting, but maybe stealing a $20 lunch isn’t the healthiest idea. However, the consensus, according to The Post’s polling, seems to be that “yes,” people want to be approached by a stranger — just don’t be creepy about it.
“I wish it happened more often,” Astoria resident Kathryn Rose, 33, previously told The Post. “I think it’s a lost art.”
“Honestly, it feels pretty good to the ego,” 28-year-old Jhonatan Mendoza told The Post — though he rarely does it himself.
Mendoza is in a crowded company of reticent male singles: About 45% of men aged 18 to 25 polled by behavioral neuroscientist Alexander on the website Date Psychology had never approached a woman in person.
But why so? Dating coach Blaine Anderson found that 53% of men say the fear of being perceived as creepy “reduces their likelihood of interacting with women.”
Many told The Post that being approached by a stranger for romance varies depending on “vibes” and “feelings,” but according to men’s dating coach Connell Barrett, there’s a subtle difference between flirtatious and freaky.
“The first kind of creepy is a guy who objectifies a woman for her looks and her body — like a cat caller,” Barrett told The Post.
Another, he said, “hides the reason he’s there” and is “not putting any romantic cards on the table.”
To avoid being put in this category, men should express good intentions.
“Just be straightforward. There are a lot of stupid lines out there,” Laura Beasley, 54, explained to The Post.
Read the full article here