In 1995, the online dating platform Match was launched, bringing in a new phenomenon of dating that was destined to meet the needs and demands of the modern consumer.
Since then, online dating has exploded exponentially. Today, there are about 8,000 online dating platforms on the planet, with about 1,000 new ones launched every year. They vary from large services, appealing to all demographics, to niche-related platforms for such groups as seniors, professionals, the LGBTQ community, farmers, and even sites like Bristir, for people who love beards.
The COVID pandemic witnessed a huge surge in the use of online dating, and it was expected that there would be reduction in use once it subsided. That did not happen. In fact the population of online daters continue to rise until today, there are well over 24 million active users of these services, with a global revenue of close to $4 billion.
Why the Popularity?
Today’s consumer is a demanding one – they want speed and efficiency in everything they do and purchase online. If an e-Commerce firm doesn’t deliver, they simply move on. While love is not always speedy and efficient, the process of finding love, according to the numbers of users, can be. Here are the major reasons why singles seek relationships online.
It’s Popular
With so many and constantly growing worldwide users, the chances of finding compatible others for any type of relationship grow as well. Statistics are bearing this out as the numbers of singles using online dating continue to increase rapidly.
It’s Global
The most popular online dating services have gone global. They offer dating services in multiple countries and languages. Consider this: a career pro is transferred to another country for their job. Or they regularly travel internationally. They no longer have to forego a social life or be lonely. They can even connect with locals before they leave.
Even on a local level, geo-location finds matches easily within user reach.
It’s Targeted
Everyone has values, goals, interests, and hobbies. Users can state their preferences down to small details and be presented with matches that promise to be most compatible.
It’s Efficient and Mobile
People can virtually “date” from anywhere and at any time, as long as they have downloaded a site’s app – on their lunch hours, their commutes, when suffering from insomnia, and such.
Users can date in the comfort of their own homes, without the need to spend grooming time getting ready for an in-person encounter until they are ready to meet that person they’ve been chatting with.
It’s Affordable
When singles meet and date in-person, there are costs involved – dinners, movies, concerts, weekend getaways, and such.
They can spend quite a bit dating others who they ultimately determine are not for them.
Online dating costs the average about $413 US per year, usually from premium subscriptions and upgrades. And users can spend time getting to know one another digitally before they make a decision to meet up in person.
It’s Easy
No one has to be a digital genius to get started. They join, set up an account, create a profile with some great photos, state their preferences, and the algorithms take over from there.
Let’s take an awesome dating app as an example. Hily launched in 2017 as a meeting place for singles. Newcomers are walked through the process of registration and profile creation, step-by-step, with suggestions and recommendations all along the way. It explains each feature of connecting with others and exactly how to access those features. It makes suggestions for chat groups within the app based upon user profiles and preferences. Even the least tech-savvy person can do this.
It’s Becoming Much Safer
In the early days, plenty of “bad actors” joined dating sites to prey upon lonely singles, to cyberbully, to defraud, etc. Fortunately, through the use of sophisticated identity verification and big data, these low-lifes are weeded out much more efficiently. And every app has safety rules and precautions to protect its users.
What Are Users Looking For?
The types of relationships that people want when they date online vary – a lot. Some are looking for hookups (one-night stands); others are seeking casual dating; still others seek long-term relationships, partnerships, and/or marriage.
There are also those who simply want friendship, and that is just as valid as any other reason for using these platforms. Most apps have set up social features that provide for friendships or more.
Use of Technology
Like anything else, technology has hit online dating by storm. Here are just a few ways in which dating has been enhanced:
- Early tech such as video chats and livestreaming are commonplace and available for free on most apps.
- Use of big data, AI, and ML to develop matching algorithms
- Creation of avatars, virtual dates via AR and VR, and even AI-generated girlfriends and boyfriends (thank COVID for this one).
The Future of Online Dating
It’s hard to say where online dating will “go” in the future, because it’s hard to say what new technology will evolve and bring promising enhancements.
Consider just one innovation. People seem to be willing to spit in a jar and send it off for a complete DNA profile.
Perhaps, exchanging that with someone with whom they have connected may enhance the compatibility of a match.
Whatever the future holds, online dating is not going away.
