Internet trends are constantly changing. Some go almost unnoticed, while others completely change the way we use websites and apps. Today we will talk about the second type — those that fundamentally change our very approach to online dating. And if it seems to you that there have not been any significant changes in this area in recent years, you are deeply mistaken.
We’ll cover the 7 most significant online dating trends (and not only those), share some useful tips, and try to predict how web dating will evolve in the foreseeable future. We hope you’ll find it interesting!
The key dating trends of this year:
- Trend #1. Rejection of your “type”
Earlier users of dating services tried to work via the type of a potential partner as carefully as possible and set rather strict criteria, but now this is a thing of the past. Obviously, by expanding your scope, you get much more interesting matches. In addition, you may not always know exactly what type is right for you, so limiting your potential circle of acquaintances is simply pointless.
- Trend #2. Cost preference in dating apps
Online dating can be quite expensive these days. Premium subscriptions are getting more expensive, while the number of free features in popular services is declining. Not every user is ready to pay $12-15 monthly just for the opportunity to meet new people. Therefore, many are looking for free alternatives. And there are plenty, by the way:
- OkCupid — a dating service developed by four friends from Harvard. It’s based on a comprehensive personality test where you answer questions, and the system then selects the most suitable partners for you. It works surprisingly well, so give it a try!
- CoffeeMeetsBagel — a dating app with a lot of free features that saves you a lot of time too. Once a day the algorithm selects a match for you based on a deep analysis of your profile. This saves you from having to sit in the app for a long time, endlessly swiping other people’s photos and hoping that sooner or later you will meet the right person.
- CamLike — a free videochat app that offers its users really convenient dating. It is multilingual, has a large base of active users from different parts of the world, excellent video and sound quality even with a mediocre internet connection, and a high-quality support service.
- Camsurf — a straightforward random chat where you can search for people by gender, specify the language of communication, and also search by interests. Premium account holders can also hide their location, show a verification badge to other users, and use an introductory message to attract the attention of new chat partners.
- Badoo — a successful combination of a dating service and a social network. The service is very functional and provides quite a lot of functions for free. To some, it may seem a little overloaded, but its users find it fits their requirement for comfortable dating and communication.
It’s worth pointing out at this point that all of these services are completely free, but they also have some paid functionality. At the same time, they are quite comfortable to use even without a premium subscription. Therefore, if you do not want to spend your money on online dating, we advise you to take a closer look at these dating platforms.
- Trend #3. Wanderlove
The essence of the Wanderlove trend is that people are no longer trying to limit their potential circle of acquaintances geographically. Quite the opposite, they are increasingly looking for a match in other cities and even countries. Not so long ago, Bumble conducted a survey of more than 14,000 users, and over 30% of them said they were ready to look for a soulmate outside their area of residence. And this number is sure to increase in the future.
- Trend #4. Infla-dating
This trend is directly related to inflation, which shook most countries of the world in 2022 and continues to be seen in 2023. According to experts from Plenty of Fish, people are choosing more economical options for dating and dates. This trend resonates closely with our second point, but it also affects offline dating. More and more people prefer inexpensive restaurants and are not in a hurry to part with their money.
- Trend #5. Conscious swipes
There are many examples of people mindlessly swiping other people’s photos just to get as many matches as possible. But in the end, this does not bring them any results, only a waste of time communicating with people who are completely unsuitable for them, but with whom sympathies supposedly coincided. Users are now shifting to conscious swipes and doing it much more thoughtfully. And this is definitely a positive trend.
- Trend #6. Sober dates
This trend began to gain popularity a few years ago. While in the past people preferred to go out on dates in the evenings and on weekends so that they could sip wine or even something stronger, now most people choose exclusively sober dates. Accordingly, the meetings are more often held on weekdays or weekend daytimes.
We believe that this is also an extremely positive trend, which saves a person from impulsive and rash decisions and actions. We’re sure it will continue in the future.
- Trend #7. Unhurried dating
Rushing in search of your other half is unacceptable, and it’s good news that more and more people understand this. Now there are plenty of people who are in no hurry to go on a first date, but prefer to continue communication in order to get to know the other person better, chat with them via video, understand what kind of person they are and whether they are ready to develop a relationship with them.
What awaits internet dating in the near future?
As recently as 2022, many believed that the future of online dating was in the metaverse. There has been too much talk about this topic. And the prospect of meeting new people in the virtual space seems to be a very interesting and unusual solution.
However…
The problem is that VR and AR technologies are still quite expensive. And the development of metaverses is a long and laborious process. Even Mark Zuckerberg’s company Meta, which has thrown significant effort and funding into the development of the metaverse, has not yet shown the world anything worthy of attention. Therefore, it is highly unlikely that we will see a massive transition of users to metaverses in the next few years. This suggests that “classic” web dating — dating apps and video chats — will remain popular. So, it is on these that modern users should focus. However it’s also useful to follow updates in this area. Perhaps very soon we will see more interesting and innovative solutions worthy of attention.
