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JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, Prof. Dawn Norris’ sociology course – ‘Generations and Age in the Social World’ at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse – has wrapped up the semester with another community-wide, student-organized Senior Speed Dating event for singles 65 and over. Their project kicked off, as in previous years, with a screening and discussion of The Age of Love.

Prof. Norris has also created a Lesson Plan (to accompany our free Senior Speed Dating Event Kit) provided at no cost to educators interested in offering students an unparalleled opportunity to explore and support the emotional lives of local elders. Two dozen speed daters attended this semester’s event, which was featured on WKBT News 8 Now. It’s never too late to date!

by Kelly Burch, Business Insider — October 31, 2023

SHORTLY AFTER CELEBRATING HIS 50TH WEDDING ANNIVERSARY, Steven Loring’s father died. As Loring helped his mother sort through financial documents and condolences, she turned to him and asked, “Is that it? No one is ever going to hug me or hold me or touch me for the rest of my life?”

Loring was taken aback by his mom’s question. “It never even occurred to me once that would be what’s on her mind,” he told Insider.

Loring’s 2014 documentary, The Age of Love, which explores speed dating for older people, was inspired by that conversation.

While it’s been years since its release, the film still brings up many conversations among those who watch it about older folks, love, and lust. It also has inspired more speed-dating events for people 70 and older, including one this fall designed by a college class at the University of Wisconsin.

You never outgrow the desire to talk about your love life

Soon after Loring had the conversation with his mother that sparked his idea for the documentary, he noticed that his 78-year-old uncle, a lifelong bachelor, had much less interest in spending time with family than he previously had. The explanation? Loring says the uncle had struck up a “full-on love affair” with a woman in his retirement community and, like most people in a new relationship, they were intensely focused on each other.

It was a development that piqued Loring’s curiosity.    Continue Reading