I don't think I fully agree with this. I think most people are quite bad at dating, I know I was. 1-2 per year for me would mean too much pressure. If I'm taking nothing else from using dating apps for the last 10 years, it's that I feel calm and have a good handle on my feelings in those situations, when good people come along I have a much better shot with them now. Obviously 2 good dates > loads of average ones, but the average ones aren't pointless either.
Fair point—I never got good at “dating” as a standalone skill. I still think that’s the benefit of activity dates over bar/dinner-and-a-movie/whatever dates, though. Doing a thing that you’re both already reasonably confident at helps counteract the anxiety and pressure from being on a date, and if you both have a good time doing the activity it makes follow-on conversions easier and less stressful since you have a common foundation to build and/or fall back on.
