Contributed by: ElyseRomano on Friday, January 09 2015 @ 06:46 am
Last modified on
With over 29 million members, a buzzed-about blog, a #1 dating app, and more than 14 million followers across the social sphere, it's safe to say Zoosk knows a thing or two about online dating.
Using their dating expertise and data gathered from studying nearly 4 million messages and 430,000 profiles, the gurus at Zoosk curated the hottest trends of 2014 and made a few predictions for the new year.
Which online dating trends left us lonely in 2014 and which ones got us (digitally) hot and bothered? What does 2015 have in store? Check out Zoosk's infographic here[*1] , and some highlights below.
Messaging
In 2014, singles were least responsive between 2pm and 3pm, presumably because they were either deeply entrenched in work or snoozing off a post-lunch food coma. Men were most active in the morning, between the hours of 9 and 10am. Women, on the other hand, were night owls. The majority of their interactions occurred between 10 and 11pm.
Prediction: Moving into 2015, Zoosk predicts that our 'always on' culture will result in instant interactions all day, every day.
Photos
2014 saw a bunch of trends where photos were concerned. For men, outdoor photos increased messages received by 19% while selfies decreased messages received by 8%. For women, the trend was reversed – selfies increased messages received by 4%, while outdoor photos decreased messages received by 40%. For both men and women, posing with a friend or animal proved problematic, but full body photos increased messages by a whopping 203%!
Prediction: Duck face and bathroom selfies are out, along with mirror photos. Enlist a friend to take your full body shot instead.
Profiles
Honesty reigned supreme for men in 2014. Profiles that included “divorce,” “separate” or “my ex” received 52% more messages. On the other hand, sharing too much too soon scared off potential dates for women. Profile mentions of “divorce,” “separate” or “my ex” received 4% fewer messages.
Prediction: Zoosk predicts we'll all be over surprises in 2015. More and more daters will rely on technology to verify user authenticity.
Technology
Traditionally, online dating has rested on a foundation of surveys. Some are longer than others, but the end goal is always the same: categorize daters based on (possibly meaningless) questions. 2014 was no exception to the trend.
Prediction: Online dating will be about the opposite of “Do what I say, not what I do” in 2015. Instead of relying on your self-reported answers, dating services will increasingly learn your preferences based on your actions.