Video Dating: The Tinder of the 70s & 80s

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As time marches on the idea of finding a romantic partner online becomes less weird and more normal. According to the Pew Research Center, the number of 18-24 year olds who use online dating has nearly tripled from 2013 to 2015.

But before the Internet came along, people didn’t take technology-assisted dating too seriously. Just ask Steve and Sherry Liddick, who met in 1978 through a video dating service — the analog version of online dating.

Video dating didn’t have a great reputation. Many of Steve and Sherry’s friends called them “losers” for using a matchmaking service to help them find love. This kind of stigmatization lasted through the early days of online dating. But as the technology evolved, our attitude evolved with it. Today tens of millions of people are online dating. Pew’s latest study shows that 80% of online daters in the U.S. think it’s a good way to meet someone. And 62% say it helps them find better matches.

“The thing about technology is, it’s there, we have to deal with it,” Steve said. “If you were traveling from New York to Los Angeles, would you go in a covered wagon? That’s the same theory I have for dating. You use the technology that’s available now.”