Advantages:
- Safety - There is always safety in numbers so if your date turns out to be a psycho, at least you will have reinforcements to help keep you safe and sound.
- Buffers - If you and your date don’t know each other very well and are nervous when you are around each other alone, there will likely be a number of awkward silences and/or situations. But if the two of you are hanging out with a few other people, then the others usually serve as buffers that can help ease the tension and also contribute to the conversation so that it flows more naturally.
- Comfort - Hanging out with your date among a group of friends will help to alleviate some of the inevitable pressures that dating tends to conjure up. Group settings usually help nervous daters to feel more at ease and act more naturally than they would if the spot light were shining directly on them. Of course this might not be the case if the group consists only of your date’s friends, which would likely only compound the anxiety. The best case scenario for a group date would be one in which both you and your date have invited a couple of friends. That way both of you are around people that you know and feel comfortable with, giving each of you an opportunity to feel more at ease.
- Feedback - Group dates provide singles with an opportunity to get some valuable feedback from friends about how the date went and how compatible the two of you seemed to someone looking in from the outside. Allow your friends to read the signs that are so often hard to see through the rose colored glasses of infatuation.
Disadvantages:
- No one-on-one interaction - One of the biggest disadvantages to group dates is that if you’ve never been on an individual date with your partner, you won’t know how well the two of you might interact alone. Moving from a group date to a more intimate date might be intimidating without the safety net of others around to help curb the inevitable awkwardness.
- Not exactly romantic - Group dates are not exactly romantic in nature. If it turns out that you and your date have amazing chemistry, you might end up wishing that the two of you were alone. However, if push comes to shove, there is no law that says you can’t simply break away from the group and finish the date on a more intimate level.
- Potential for embarrassment - Even well meaning friends will sometimes let something potentially embarrassing slip. If you are the type that gets easily embarrassed, hanging out with your friends and your crush could leave the door open for some embarrassing stories to be told.
- Misdirected chemistry - In a group date situation, there is always the possibility that you or your date might hit it off better with someone in the group other than each other. This isn’t exactly likely but it is certainly a possibility to consider so choose your friends wisely when arranging a group date. Never invite somebody along that you don’t fully trust.
