Single adults in Myrtle Beach looking to build community, find a romantic connection or escape their roommates gathered for a Singles Only AI Mystery Match hosted by Thursday Events.
Community members gathered on Thursday at the Tasting Room on Ninth Avenue in Myrtle Beach, SC. The event was designed for single adults, ages 21-35, to meet with others based on their interests.
Thursday Events is an international organization that hosts trips, bar meet-ups, exercise groups, international experiences and other social activities aimed at helping single people connect in their communities. The Myrtle Beach event was organized by local coordinator Josh Vanecko, who hosted and created a branch of Thursday Dating in the city.
Vanecko wanted to bring Thursday Dating to the local area to create communities with young people who are limited in connections. In a digital age where dating apps are taking over, he said Thursday Dating allows people to feel an authentic connection.
“The idea behind it is to kind of take away the dating apps, take away the online ways to connect with people, and kind of bring people back into person. I think after Covid, people got really comfortable online and just met each other online and talked to each other online,” Vanecko said. “But Thursday came in, and they were like, let’s change it up a little bit … just kind of bring back the in-person meetings and bring back those connections that are authentic and real face-to-face.”
The event ran from 7-10 p.m. and cost $15 to attend. After purchasing a ticket, attendees then scanned a QR code that directs them to a Matchbox AI survey.
The survey asked a series of random questions, which participants rate on a scale from one to seven based on their level of agreement. The responses are used to match participants with others who have similar answers.
The first hour of the event was meant for everyone to mingle and get to know each other. At 8:30 p.m. the matches based on survey compatibility were set, and everyone broke into smaller groups to connect.
Jordan Smith hosted the event in Vanecko’s absence. This was Smith’s second event with Thursday Dating, joining because he believed in the message.
“I have a huge passion for connecting people to each other. I think as people we’re designed to be in community, and I get a lot of enjoyment seeing people be connected to each other,” Smith said.
One participant of the mystery match was Eden Alon, a member who came out to meet other people.
“It’s very hard to meet young people if you don’t go to the Coastal or HTC,” Alon said.
The meet-up creates a safe space for people who either want to meet someone romantically or just meet people to become friends. In a digital age where in person connection can be seen as “hard work” or difficult, Thursday wants to make in-person community a common regularity again.
“I think that the biggest thing that I want everybody to get out of this is that self-care is so important. And a part of self-care is community,” Vanecko said.
Individuals interested in learning more about Thursday’s future events in Myrtle Beach, can click here for more information.
