I've had first dates where 20 minutes in I was desperately hoping for a bailout phone call so I'd have an excuse to leave. Then I've had first dates where the conversation flowed so smoothly neither of us even looked at our phones for 90 minutes. That's the kind of date that Hinge wants you to have.

The first Friday in March is National Day of Unplugging. Who knew? Apparently the folks at the dating app Hinge did and they're going pay people $100 to unplug during a date today. That means no texting, no scrolling through social media, no answering e-mails, and DEFINITELY no checking on another dating app to find your next date before this one is over.

Here's how it works. First you load the Hinge app onto your phone, it's available for iOS and Android platforms, then you use the app set up a date for today or tomorrow. You need to do this before 4:00 this afternoon because at 4:00 you'll need to pause your profile and leave it paused for 24 hours. After 4:00 Saturday afternoon you can activate it again and fill out the "We Met" survey inside the app. Then Hinge will send you a $100 digital Visa gift card to reimburse you for your date. The gift cards will be given out until the pot of $25,000 is used up, so fill out that survey quickly.

Never heard of Hinge? Neither had I until now. DatingSitesReviews.com said, "The online dating app "Hinge" is for serious daters only. Great free trial length for new members of 3 months. Get a Most Compatible match and up to 15 regular matches daily based on your preferences." As dating apps go it's pretty affordable with prices from $4.99 to $12.99 a month depending on what level of service you want.

Hinge seems to be one of those dating apps that wants you to get out and actually mingle with your matches, not just interact with them inside the app and they're putting their money where their mouth is. Since this is the National Day of Unplugging, Hinge would also like you to put your phone away and concentrate on your date. That is why you invited them out in the first place, right?

Even if you don't go on a date you can still take part in the National Day of Unplugging. It's the perfect time to step away from all, or at least some, of your digital devices and connect with the physical world and actual people around you.

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