👩‍❤️‍💋‍👨📲 Hinge is the new LinkedIn

🍕🫢 FREE PIZZA FOR A YEAR!? It’s National Pizza Week, and our friends at Sal’s Pizza are giving one B-Side Member free pizza for a whole year (a $500 value!). Members, we’re dropping this in the newsletter tomorrow. Open to MA residents 18+. Start a 30-day free trial and enter here.

🎁 And happy birthday to B-Side Member Mason Camille! We’re not saying we’re the best gift givers EVER … but free pizza for a year would be pretty darn good.

👀 What’s on tap today:

Up first…

Need a job? Go on a date! We’re not kidding. As the job market gets tougher, some young people are turning to dating apps to help their search, according to Bloomberg.

Here’s what to know:

👩‍❤️‍👨 Hinge is basically the new LinkedIn. Per a survey by ResumeBuilder.com, one in three dating app users are swiping for jobs, not love. Two-thirds said they’ve targeted folks who work at a desirable company, and three-quarters said they matched with folks who have the roles they want. “I feel like my approach to the dating apps is it being another networking platform like everything else, like Instagram or LinkedIn,” 20-year-old Tiffany Chau told Bloomberg.

💼 Which probably says more about the job market than the dating scene. “In times of great uncertainty, when people’s jobs are threatened, people will do whatever it takes to survive,” said BU business professor Constance Hadley. And it’s definitely rough out there: The U.S. unemployment rate ticked up throughout 2025, AI is turning the hiring process into a dystopian nightmare, and job matching programs are overwhelmed.

🤝 Think of it as networking … with benefits. “People are doing it to expand their networks, make connections,” said Stacie Haller, ResumeBuilder.com’s chief career adviser. And in theory, it’s not such a bad idea. “Networking is the only way people are rising above the horror show that the job search is today,” she said. And at the end of the day, what are dating apps if not ways to meet new people? 

📲 But the apps would prefer you stick to flirting. In fact, most of them explicitly discourage their users from talking shop. A Bumble rep told Bloomberg that using it to look for jobs “isn’t aligned with our mission and doesn’t create an authentic experience for our community.” And apps like Hinge, Tinder, and OKCupid agree. One notable exception: Grindr, which is happy to be a safe space for its mostly LGBTQ+ users to form all kinds of connections — including professional ones.

❤️‍🩹 ‘Cause let’s be real: Networking can be a mood killer. Alex Xiao, the 18-year-old director of Ditto AI, a dating app startup for college students, told Bloomberg he’s had several matches who were more interested in career advice than a date, and some have even straight-up asked him for a job. “A lot of connection in general just boils down to: ‘How can you help me further my career?’” he said. “And I’m like: ‘Bro.’” Bro is right.

💌 Wanna know more? Check out the full story here.

❄️ ✨  Calendar looking suspiciously empty after the holidays? Now you have something to look forward to: Montréal en Lumière. Running Feb. 27–March 7 and only a five-hour drive from Boston, this Canadian winter festival is close enough for a long weekend, but justtttt far enough to feel like a real escape. By day, wander free outdoor installations (including an ice skating loop) and shows from local artists. By night, eat your way through 80 of Montréal’s best restaurants serving special festival menus. Then pull an all-nighter at Nuit Blanche, when the entire city basically turns into one giant art crawl on Feb. 28. Start planning your trip now. 

🏅 These local athletes are going for gold. We’re T-24 days from the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, and let’s just say, Mass. will be well represented. See: Maxim Naumov, a local figure skater whose parents tragically died last year in a plane crash. He nabbed a spot on Team USA this weekend (and warning: his performance might make you ugly cry). Other local athletes include North Reading hockey star Alex Carpenter, who will be gunning for her third medal, and Medfield speed skater Julie Letai. USA! USA!

🌬️ 2025 was Boston’s windiest year ever. Or at least, since 1936, when we started keeping track. Last year, Boston’s average wind gust was a blustery 30.6 mph. That might not sound like much compared with our 90-year average of ~23 mph. Put another way: In 2025, there were 165 days when Boston winds topped 30 mph, which is ~100 more days(!) than usual. So what’s to blame for our breezy year? Basically, a lot of storms rolling through, and a warm Gulf of Maine. 

⛷️ Skiing newbs don’t have to break the bank this year. You can shred the gnar at Blue Hills Ski Area for just $30 on midweek evenings, which is technically MBTA accessible. But if you’re able to get up to New Hampshire, all the better. There, you can ski for FREE all season long at Storrs Hill Ski Area in Lebanon, Mt. Eustis Ski Hill in Littleton, or Veterans Memorial Recreation Area in Franklin (just double check their hours). Here are more tips for an affordable ski season.

📚 The BPL has the cure for your reading slump. Enter: The Boston Public Library's Winter Reading Challenge. The goal? Read a book by an author from each of these six geographic regions by Feb. 28: Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Oceania. To make it a little more fun, you can keep track of your books using this reading log, which you can download or pick up at your local branch. Not sure where to start? Here’s a list of recs for each region. Challenge accepted!

The B-Side is a proud media partner of Rev’d, an indoor cycling and fitness studio that’s all about going all in. This year, reach your wellness goals with their New Athlete Offer: one week unlimited for $35 at Rev’d Copley, Dedham, or Foxboro. Take it from us — after your first week, you’ll be hooked by their immersive visuals, powerful sound, and high-energy instruction that makes every ride feel focused and motivating. 

Hot take: The Elm Draught House Cinema > Gillette Stadium. Why? The Millbury movie theatre shows every single Pats game free of charge. 

It’s a tradition that’s been going on for years courtesy of owner Jim Perry, who wanted to find a way to give back to community members who couldn’t afford to see a game IRL, let alone season tickets. Fast forward to now, and Perry has a group of regulars who he says are like season ticket holders — they come every week, and even claim their seats.

And though a movie theatre isn't quite the same atmosphere as Gillette, that doesn’t stop the crowd from getting rowdy: "If we win, everybody's happy and they love it. If we lose, it's like people are walking out of a funeral." 

Check out the full story here.

— Written by Gia Orsino and Emily Schario

🏈 Thanks for reading! AMC could NEVER.

💜 Special shoutout to today’s sponsor, Montréal en Lumière, for supporting local journalism and making winter 2026 très exceptionnel. 

🤑 The results are in: 36% of B-Siders correctly guessed that Mass.’ highest paid public employee makes $2.18 million a year, and many even clocked that it was a UMass sports coach. One reader said: “All of these answers are wild.”

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