Relationships

Dating apps are struggling right now, and many Gen Z women are looking to other platforms like LinkedIn and Instagram to meet people.

A new article in The Financial Times cites a poll from Mintel that found that 47 percent of men between 18 and 34 had used a dating app or website to meet someone this past year, compared to only 25 percent of women of the same age.

“Trying to engage young women is the biggest struggle for dating apps,” said Rebecca McGrath, associate director for media and technology at Mintel. “Significant gender skew means it is harder for men to find matches and, subsequently, women often become bombarded, making the experience worse for all.”

A new survey from Forbes Health has revealed that a whopping 80 percent of Gen Z and Millennial respondents said they are burned out from dating apps.

Forbes surveyed 1,000 singles over eighteen years old who had used a dating app in the past year and found that 40 percent of people feel burned out because they have been unable to find a good connection with someone on an app. Meanwhile, 35 percent say it’s due to being disappointed by people, and 27 percent say it’s because they have been rejected.

Interestingly, twenty-four percent say they feel burned out because of having repetitive conversations with many matches at once, 22 percent say it’s due to swiping, and 21 percent say it’s from all the time they spend on the apps, according to Forbes.

Bumble is expanding its focus with the acquisition of Geneva, a platform built around connecting people with groups and clubs to help “build community.”

According to Tech Crunch, the acquisition further expands Bumble’s platform beyond dating in the hopes of gaining new users and growing revenue. As Tech Crunch noted, the company laid off a third of its workforce earlier this year, and has been struggling to increase its paying userbase along with other dating apps.

The terms of the deal were not disclosed with the announcement according to Tech Crunch, but as it pointed out, Bumble CEO Lidiane Jones has said that the company will be pursuing acquisitions to drive growth. This new purchase indicates the company is interested in community-building on its platform, likely to drive engagement.

Image: Tinder

A new study by dating app Tinder shows that women and men have major misconceptions about what each other wants from dating apps.

According to USA Today, Tinder’s “Green Flags Study” polled 8,000 heterosexual men and women between 18-34 years old across the U.S., United Kingdom, Canada and Australia to see what people think of the opposite sex when it comes to using dating apps. Researchers pointed out that both men and women who identify as straight were quick to make assumptions about what others actually want out of Tinder, and turned out to often be wrong.

More than half of male (53 percent) and female (68 percent) respondents said they are seeking a romantic relationship.

Dating app Bumble publicly apologized after its new ad campaign about letting go of celibacy was not well-received.

The company debuted billboard ads reading: “You know full well a vow of celibacy is not the answer” juxtaposed against an introduction to “the new Bumble.” This was part of a brand redesign promotion, according to AP.

The ad appeared tone deaf to many women, some referring to it as “anti-choice” during a time when women’s decisions and control over their bodies are being taken away in the wake of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision regarding abortion. When the Bumble ad seemed to be telling them what to do with their bodies, coming from a dating app with a reputation that puts women first, it sparked outrage.

Dating app Hinge is doubling down on efforts to curb ghosting on its app with a new feature called Your Turn Limits.

According to the company’s press release, Your Turn Limits encourages a user with eight or more matches left waiting for a response to their messages to either reply or end the conversation before that user can match with someone new.

“With the launch of Your Turn Limits, we’re testing a new way to help our users focus on quality over quantity – keeping intentionality at the core of their dating experience,” said Justin McLeod, Founder and CEO of Hinge, in a statement. “We’ve heard from daters how they’re feeling overwhelmed, distracted, and, simply put, burnt out.”