Dating apps have been blamed for the so-called “dating apocalypse” – the idea that singles prefer to mindlessly swipe instead of trying to form a long-term relationship with someone who interests them. But according to a new study, the opposite is true – people are turning to dating apps to find long-term relationships.

Researchers from Switzerland’s University of Geneva (UNIGE) studied survey data from 3,235 of the country’s adults aged 18 and over who were in a relationship and had met their partner in the last ten years, and found that those who had met over a dating app were more likely to live together than others, indicating a higher level of commitment.

Women who met their partner over a dating app were also more likely to want a child within the next three years compared to those who met their partners offline, showing that dating app users approached the dating process with greater commitment. In addition, those couples who met over apps were just as happy and satisfied in their relationships as those who hadn’t, according to a report by CNN.

Recipient
Christian Mingle

The Top Pick - Christian Award recipient for 2021 is Christian Mingle. Christian Mingle is one of the original Christian dating services and has been in business for over 15 years and have served over 16 million members. They not only offer a website version of their service but a Android and iOS dating apps as well. Christian Mingle is most popular in the United States and Canada.

New members can join Christian Mingle for free and can create a profile, search for members, send Smiles, and even communicate with Premium Members by replying to their messages. If you would like to initiate a conversation by sending a message or be able to view more than one photo of a member you then need to become a Premium member. This costs as low as $29.99 per month.

Dating app Bumble is looking to make its stock market debut in February, likely in time for Valentine’s Day, according to a report from Bloomberg who broke the news.

The female-forward dating app was rumored to be planning its IPO for 2021, but there was no date or even timeframe specified. The company is backed by investment firm Blackstone Group, and according to Bloomberg, has already confidentially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to go public. In 2019, Blackstone acquired a majority stake in what was known as MagicLab, now rebranded as Bumble, which owns the Bumble apps and Badoo among other dating apps. At the time of the purchase, MagicLab was valued at about $3 billion.

The Lox Club officially launched this fall, but the buzz about it has been growing since the beginning of the year, with comparisons to exclusive dating app Raya.

The new members-only app accepts applications from users to join, and there’s currently thousands of people on the waiting list over the course of a couple of months, according to Jewish Insider. The company’s target market is Jewish singles looking for a different, more curated experience from a mainstream app like Tinder, but you can join even if you’re not Jewish. The tagline says the app is: “for Jews with ridiculously high standards.”

The app is similar to Raya in that you can’t just sign up, you have to be accepted. However, unlike Raya, acceptance to the club isn’t dependent on how many Instagram followers you have, (though users are required to link to their Instagram page when they join), or what you do for a living, but something more intangible - what kind of values you hold.

Recipient
MillionaireMatch

The 2021 recipient of the Editor's Top Pick - Wealthy award goes to the dating service MillionaireMatch. This dating service has been in business for 20 years now and has welcomed more than 4.7 million members including attractive singles and wealthy members from not only the United States, but Canada and the United Kingdom as well. MillionaireMatch was one of the first dating services to offer verified profiles. Members can have their photo verified as authentic along with their income.

Image: Tinder

Dating app Tinder released its annual report The Year in Swipe, and found that while the pandemic dominated the year, dating apps benefitted with an increase in subscriptions and user activity. 

While many singles were stuck at home they chose to connect virtually, with messages and swipes up by double digits compared to back in February, according to Inside Hook.

“Travel” was the most-used term this year, especially around March and April when the first lockdowns began and people had to cancel their plans. Also popular in 2020 were pandemic-related ice breakers, with many using the phrase “quarantine and chill” and discussing mask wearing habits and protocols with their matches.