Environmentalism is a Big Attraction for Daters in the UK

Green dating is becoming a trend among UK daters, according to a new study by dating app Bumble.

In recent months, Bumble added a feature for daters to include values in their profiles, not only to highlight their priorities to other daters, but also to support a cause, including for environmental, social or political justice. Each time a user sends a message to another user, the company will donate to select organizations that work for these causes. 

According to Bumble, 27 percent of UK users selected “environmentalism” as their highest value.

Green dating has become a trend around the world, especially among young Gen Z daters. People are more passionate about political and social reform, and are looking for others who share their values. According to reports, this trend has also increased because of the pandemic. More people have a new appreciation of the outdoors since they relied on hiking, walking, and other outdoor activities during lockdowns.

In fact, Bumble also found that even now that restaurants and indoor venues are opening up, 55 percent of daters still plan for outdoor dates such as a walk in the park or a picnic.

Bumble is not the only dating app to notice young singles gravitating towards environmental causes. OkCupid launched a new Climate Advocate Badge earlier this year, allowing users to advertise to others where they stand on the issue. The company implemented this feature after 90 percent of its users said that it’s important that they match with people who care about the environment and understand the impact of climate change. Another 84 percent said they’d like a badge that signifies their dedication to the cause.

OkCupid also allows users the ability to filter out climate change deniers from their searches. This came after the company reported a 240 percent increase in mentions of “environment,” “climate change,” “global warming,” “Greta Thunberg” and “recycle.” 

Tinder is also appealing to green daters, adding the ability to search by interests like environmentalism in the company’s new “Explore” section of the app. The company noticed that there was a significant uptick in Gen Z users mentioning words like “climate change,” “social justice” and “the environment” in their own report from 2019.

According to Berkshire Live, Naomi Walkland, Head of Bumble UK & Ireland, said: “Compatibility is more than just physical attraction, which is why we want to empower people on the app to openly discuss things that are important to them. We’ve added badges and interests to profiles so that you can showcase your lifestyle, values, and causes you champion like environmentalism, human rights and feminism.”