It’s a question couples get asked all the time. How’d you meet? Ten to 15 years ago, people were embarrassed to admit the answer was online dating. It felt as if they were desperate to resort to it and didn’t want to admit to others that’s how they met.
I know of several friends who met that way and kept it a secret between themselves for years. (Now they admit it.) But since Tinder’s “swipe right” method, it’s become cool. And, especially since the pandemic, online dating apps have seen a huge rise in new users. The stigma has worn off and like wearing a mask no longer seems weird, people have become comfortable saying they met on an online dating site or app.
Yay! Online Dating has Become the Norm
Virtual meeting sites have transformed the way people meet, connect, or continue a relationship, so why not use it for dating, too? Online dating is now a popular way for people to meet in the U.S. Plus during a worldwide pandemic and post-vaccine, people still find it safer to meet online and chat there first before doing so in person for a variety of reasons, and not just COVID-19 related. Since it’s been more of a challenge to find a partner in person, more people adapt to online chats and virtual video calls with singles for their first few dates.
Debunking Tradition
Since 2020, many traditions are pivoting. People are getting used to working from home, having more solitude, and taking things slower in the relationship area. Online dating appears to be replacing more traditional ways of finding love. Stanford sociologist Michael Rosenfeld, who has studied dating for more than 20 years, says meeting someone through friends or family has been declining for quite a while and online dating has become more popular. Not only that, people are trusting new dating technology. With the advent of smartphones, finding “the one” in a dating app is more common than ever.
Enter Niche Dating
With more popularity and public acceptance, dating apps adhere to making it easier to find singles with like-minded interests. Users want to start in a place they’re more likely to find someone with common ground.
Voila! Enter the importance of niche sites such as FetchaDate, which is specifically for pet lovers. To animal lovers, it’s foundational that anyone they date also understands their pet is family. And, whether it’s a photo of them with their pet or as their WingPet making the introduction, pets help users find the perfect match—or at least increase their right swipes due to their pet’s cuteness factor.
The Online Dating Pool
Although online dating is popular among individuals of all ages and backgrounds, more than 45 percent of people ages 18 to 29 are frequent users. It’s clearly become more of a long term way of life.
One reason many people now prefer dating apps is the number of options. With millions of active users, an online dating app has someone for everyone. That means no matter the type of partner you seek, you’re likely to find a match with your interests and compatibility. And, if you’re willing to expand your distance parameters, you have more opportunities for virtual dates. The pandemic has led app users to explore connections out of their local community to chat with people across the country.
It’s Easier to Find a Partner on a Dating App
Those with busy schedules and long work hours benefit from a dating app by meeting and socializing with people online. Coronavirus certainly makes it more difficult to hang out in person, which has made it more challenging to make new acquaintances. Dating platforms allow users to meet lots of different people without the mask or measuring six-foot distances.
Sociologist Rosenfeld says, “The online dating systems have much larger pools of potential partners compared to the number of people your mother knows, or the number of people your best friend knows. Dating websites have enormous advantages of scale.”
Online dating arena is growing for users and those providing it. Dating apps like Match, eharmony, and Bumble are climbing to a 12 billion-dollar industry with the bulk owned by Match Group.
Safety Zone
A considerable percentage of online daters do feel it’s safer to find a compatible partner from a dating app. First, they acknowledge approaching people is more comfortable, especially for introverts and those who are shy. It’s less humiliating to not continue a chat, risk being ghosted or having a person reject you in person. When you’re chatting online, you have time to respond. Whether it’s a written message or video chat, you’re talking to potential dates on your own time. Many apps even provide some opening lines for communication.
When the conversations starts online, users feel more at ease. Especially for women, there’s a safety net to first chat online as opposed to leaving home.
And what’s a conversation about dating apps without acknowledging those who feign who they are? Modern technology is making it harder to be a fake. At FetchaDate, users sign up with their mobile number and verify it with a code, so there are no fake email signups on the platform. Other online dating platforms include background checks and facial recognition.
The saying, “There’s someone for everyone” is arguably more true than ever. If you want to find a date, no need to put love on the backburner; just open your phone.
