Date or no date?

I have just stumbled upon this draft of a blog i meant to submit a few weeks ago, after reading through it i am still none the wiser about dating as a whole.

Thursday night at 9 and I'm watching First Dates on Channel 4.
I have been fascinated by this show since it started. About how people deal with first date nerves, small talk and awkward silences (of which there seem to be many)
The idea behind the show is that the initial 'couples' applied on line and from then on, throughout the week, members of the public can apply via the website to go on a date with a particular person on the show and so on and so forth as the weeks go on. A subtle reality dating show perhaps? This also translates as an interesting social experiment into showing the dating habits and personality traits that we find attractive or not. Although i am currently puzzled by the couple right now who are taking it in turns to say the guy's name - Hank. Hmmmm, Struggling for conversation??
In full honesty it is a clear way of highlighting that some people just aren't compatible but too many relationships are lived out over the cybersphere, in a world of emoticons and lol's. When it comes to a traditional 'date' have we completely forgotten how to act?? Or do we even go on traditional first dates anymore??

http://cdn.sheknows.com/articles/2011/07/woman-on-bad-date.jpg

 Speaking from experience, i have been on one 'official' first date. All i will say is that first impressions mean everything and this person's red velvet attire didn't impress me in the slightest! It still makes me cringe to this day!
I had been chatting to the person by text for a few days and seemed to get on OK but then the red suit put me off. Is it shallow of me to base the rest of the evening's enjoyment on that one first look i had of him in that hideous suit??

 On the show, all the women came up dressed to the nines while the men looked much more casual and to be honest in most cases, the women seemed to flow through the conversations whist the men stumbled and stutter.  
Do we put too much pressure on ourselves when getting ready for a date over what we wear, what we need to say, how we put ourselves across because we no longer have a computer screen to hide behind?? or a couple of minutes to think of a witty/flirtatious reply to a text/e-mail

Perhaps i should set myself a little social experiment of my own and go out on a 'first date'