Tips

Image: Tinder

Tinder launched a new in-app dictionary which defines certain slang words used by many Gen Z singles, so that older daters can understand their language.

The Tinder Dating Dictionary, crafted by 18 to 25-year-olds at Tinder, was just unveiled in Australia. It provides a detailed list of common dating terminology, including popular terms like “rizz,” “cushioning,” and “kitten fishing.” The company responded to research that showed 62 percent of their target Gen Z market felt like they “spoke a different language” than older singles when it comes to dating.

The recent survey also found that 70 percent of 18-25 year-olds regularly use dating slang compared to 55 percent of 26 to 40 year-olds. Understanding the language, Tinder assumes, will help bridge this gap.

OkCupid is testing ChatGPT questions to provide users of its app, harnessing the popular AI technology for itself.

ChatGPT has taken the world by storm, with millions of people testing its writing skills, so naturally daters are using it to chat with their matches over dating apps. OkCupid has often analyzed user behavior and preferences to choose new features to add, so now the dating app is sharing that it’s been sending out questions formulated not by people, but by the popular AI ChatBot.

According to Tech Crunch, the six questions generated by ChatGPT have already been answered more than 135,000 times, mostly by Gen Z users. In fact, 31 percent of Gen Z users on OkCupid said they don’t think that using AI to create a profile or message someone on a dating app is a violation of trust, according to Mashable.

The questions introduced by ChatGPT include:

Bumble has partnered with Kele Confectionery to offer its users in Singapore the chance to obtain a complimentary bin of treats in celebration of Chinese New Year. In addition, the dating app launched a new video intended to help break down barriers for single women during the holiday, when added pressures are put on them.

Sending a “love letter snack” to the object of your affection during Chinese New Year is an age-old practice in Singapore, and Bumble is hopping on the tradition to spread the love, and to get people to download the app. Since Bumble’s motto is “women make the first move,” the company has been focusing its efforts to appeal to young single women in more conservative cultures in the APAC region, like Singapore.

According to website The Drum, Lucille McCart, APAC communications director of Bumble, said about the promotion: “Our findings in Singapore indicate that cuffing season occurs around Chinese New Year to Valentine’s Day, owing to social pressures around being coupled up during this period. Bumble Love Letters is our contemporary spin on this age-old practice. We want to revive the tradition of initiating a date with treats but also encourage singles to show love to the ultimate date – themselves.”

A new survey from dating app Hinge found that young Gen Z daters are no longer interested in hookup culture, thanks to the isolation they felt from the pandemic.

Forty-five percent of Gen Z daters surveyed felt that they had changed their dating habits for the better since the pandemic began - and are only interested in relationships that would be “additive” to their lives, according to a report from New York Post.

In addition, 39 percent of those surveyed said they were pickier about who they dated since the pandemic, and 91 percent of these respondents said this was because they didn’t want to waste time on the wrong person.

Image: Bumble

Dating app Bumble is rekindling its “Stand for Safety” initiative in India to help combat online abuse.

According to Business Today India, the company released a guidebook created in partnership with the Centre for Social Research (CSR), a non-profit, and Nyaaya, an open-access digital resource center that educates people about their rights. The guide will “drive awareness around digital safety and support the community in recognizing and combating online abuse, bullying, and discrimination.”

Bumble decided to relaunch the initiative after conducting a survey across India on the scope and effects of online harassment. The company found that 50 percent of respondents had seen hateful online content, and around 40 percent have faced hate speech and bullying in regard to their particular community, or to their physical appearance.

The new year typically brings new dating trends, and according to Match, Zoomancing, icing out, and coupling season will be the breakout stars, at least in the UK.

Match Dating’s Expert Matchmaker Hayley Quinn has predicted that these trends will take off in the new year, after closely watching the pandemic alter dating habits at an unprecedented level.

“Zoomancing,” or virtual dating, isn’t going away anytime soon, she told the U.K.’s Mirror. In fact, Match reported that 18 percent of its users continue to date virtually, even when they could have met in person. This is in large part due to Covid infection surges throughout the last two years and the emergence of new variants that have continued to cause more concern, even as more people get vaccinated. Lockdowns might not be required anymore, but singles remain cautious with people they are just getting to know. Plus, dating virtually offers people a chance to get to know each other before meeting in real life.