A lot has already been said about the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on people’s psychological states. A dangerous virus does more than just pose a threat to health. It creates a whole range of additional difficulties for those going through it. Social ties weaken and collapse, people become more inward-looking, suffer from loneliness, maybe even fall into prolonged depression and struggle to get out of it for months.
But is everything really that bad?
Not so much. Against the background of a decline in offline social contacts, interactions on the Internet have grown. In fact, very significantly. For example, at the end of 2020, representatives of Tinder reported an unprecedented number of users in the application. Over just a day, users set a new record — three billion swipes.
Other online dating services have also shown colossal growth rates:
- OkCupid — +700% matches on the site and in the app from March to May 2020.
- Bumble — +70% in-app video calls and +32% duration of these calls.
- Omegle video chat — +300-400% users online in 2020-2021.
It’s impossible to dispute the fact that the online dating industry is experiencing a boom right now, which has no equivalent over the last 5-10 years. It’s likely that this growth will continue, because the end of the pandemic is still unclear, and offline dating seems to be less and less appealing every day.
It’s not surprising that in the current environment, the trends of online dating have begun to change actively. It is these new trends we’d like to look at in more detail.
Trend 1: Video calls
Before the coronavirus pandemic, video calling in dating apps was more of a bonus than a really in-demand feature. But when almost the whole world went into quarantine, it became clear that text chatting is far from the most convenient way to meet, communicate and get to know each other better. Against this background, video communication services such as Skype, Zoom, Google Meet and others experienced a big surge in popularity.
Dating app developers responded quickly to user demands and hastily implemented video calling into their apps. Tinder, Bumble and other industry leaders were among the first to do this. Less popular platforms followed their example, and completely new applications with an emphasis on video calling began to appear — The Sauce, Jungle, HILY, Qemistry and others.
Trend 2: Video dating
This trend could be attributed to the previous one, but regular video calls and video dates are slightly different things. Some developers even used the classic Speed Dating format and implemented it in their applications. A prime example is the League app, in which you have three speed dates in nine minutes. If both participants like the first interaction, it’s possible to continue chatting further. Other sites not only offer the chance to have a virtual date, but also select its theme, so it’s easier for users to find a common language and spend time enjoyably.
The best alternatives to video calls and video dates in dating apps are random video chat applications such as https://chathub.cam, https://videochatomegle.com, https://camsurf.com, https://www.omegle.com and others. These platforms allow you to chat with random users from almost all over the world. There are practically no restrictions here, but there are useful tools for a more accurate search for partners by gender, location, interests, etc.
Many popular random video chat sites showed really active growth during the pandemic — from 20-30% to several hundred percent. Considering that this isn’t a new format of online communication, this growth is very meaningful.
Trend 3: Privileges for vaccinated users
In many countries there are now active policies aimed at vaccinating as many people as possible against Covid-19. However, there’s no legal coercion to do so, just encouragement in a variety of ways.
Dating apps have joined this initiative as well. For example, Tinder offered vaccinated users access to some paid features. And in their profiles there’s the chance to display a badge to show you’ve been vaccinated.
The only problem is the lack of careful monitoring of whether users are actually vaccinated. Therefore, you should not trust such labels 100%. In any case though, this is a good initiative that can be an incentive for some to get vaccinated.
Trend 4: Free advanced functionality
Continuing the previous trend — free features for the vaccinated. Tinder gives vaccinated users a “Super Like”, Match members get a free Boost, and vaccinated Badoo users get access to a range of paid features.
Other popular online platforms followed a similar path: Bumble, OkCupid, BLK, Chispa, Hinge, and Plenty of Fish. The OkCupid developers have done it in an interesting way. Here people who have received the vaccine or stated they want to be vaccinated receive up to 14% more matches than those who do not plan to get vaccinated.
Of course, this is a temporary measure that is mainly relevant at a time when vaccinated people in many countries are still a minority.
Trend 5: Dating sites as platforms for finding new friends
Who even said that dating sites and apps are just for finding a potential mate? That’s right, no one. And users have only recently become aware of this. This has made it possible not only to greatly expand the audience of such sites, but also make certain adjustments to how they work. So, for example, on some dating sites you now can specify the purpose of your visit — relationships, sex, friendship, etc.
You can immediately indicate that you’re looking for friends, not a partner. This greatly simplifies the search and opens up a lot of new possibilities. Granted, the majority of users here are still looking for a match, but there are also a lot of people who just want to expand their circle of friends. So if you feel a lack of communication with existing friends and want to find interesting new people, be sure to try to search for them through dating sites and apps. You’ll be pleasantly surprised by the number of people like you. A lot of pleasant interactions await you!
Trend 6: Growing loyalty to online dating as a phenomenon
5-10 years ago, less than half of Internet users considered online dating a positive phenomenon. For many, having a profile on a dating site seemed embarrassing. Some used other people’s photos and changed their names so that no one would see their real identity. Others bypassed dating sites altogether and ignored them in every possible way.
Now the situation has changed for the better. More than 60% of modern people agree that online dating is not only normal, but also very enjoyable. The best confirmation of the effectiveness of online dating is that about 17% of all marriages in the world today took place thanks to meeting on the Internet.
Let’s summarize a little
The internet dating industry is changing very quickly. This has been noticed even by those who don’t actively use dating sites. Looking at it objectively, the changes caused by the pandemic are rather positive. Here are just a few reasons why:
- The audience for dating sites has grown substantially.
- Users have become more interested in promising interactions and are generally loyal to dates on their chosen network.
- Apps, dating sites and random video chat sites are actively implementing convenient and useful new features that users could only dream of before.
- Free functionality is expanding, and increased competition is forcing dating site owners to make their offerings more attractive.
- Moderation of many services has become an order of magnitude better than it was. This is largely due to a growing audience and an increasing number of scammers in the online space. However it’s worth noting that the fight against them is being conducted quite effectively.
Of course, the world is already very tired of the pandemic, quarantine and all kinds of bans. But we’re lucky — we can meet and communicate with new people on the Internet. And this communication is more convenient, safer and easier than meeting in real life. Take advantage of it and enjoy your new acquaintances!
