I'm old enough to remember pre-internet matchmaking services. They were the butt of endless jokes, laughably bad, and anyone who used them tended to keep it a secret. People generally thought of you as a pathetic loser if you admitted to using them. They varied wildly in quality from service to service. And yet, they may have been better than the apps millions of people use today on their phones.

Using those old services, you might go on some lousy dates back in the day, but at least you went on a real date and tried to be your best and act in good faith (rather than lazily swipe past everyone in rapid-fire judgement mode).

Maybe it's nostalgia talking, but I think it was less cynical. An actual human being was in the middle of the process to try and help make the matches. The old system was highly flawed, and perhaps a waste of money. But maybe better than a profit-focused algorithm written by socially awkward coders and tech bros.