Image: Netflix

Netflix launched its latest dating reality TV show Jewish Matchmaking in May, and it’s already sparking new interest among young singles to try the age-old practice.

According to Jewish Unpacked, matchmaking is ancient but gets a fresh new look on the Netflix series, hosted by Aleeza Ben Shalom, Dating Coach and Matchmaker. One of the contestants is content creator Cindy Seni (who has also hosted videos for Unpacked), who was contacted by the production team to audition.

“I was making a lot of reels about being single,” Seni told Unpacked. “So I was sent an email, and then I just applied as a joke at the beginning, because I had just gotten out of a relationship. And I was like, Well, why not? You know, if someone’s gonna find me a husband, it’s going to be Netflix.” 

A new user survey from Hinge found that memes were fast becoming the best way to show affection for a match, as well as to display your personal sense of humor.

Almost three-quarters of the 2,000 users Hinge surveyed said they used memes to find out if they share a sense of humor with a match, and 60 percent said they want to get a sense of someone’s “meme humor” before going on a date, according to Mashable.

A vast majority – 93 percent – say that memes reveal a potential partner’s sense of humor, and almost as many consider a shared sense of humor an important factor in a relationship. And if you are worried about what meme to send or what someone’s sense of humor is like, don’t stress: 36 percent of daters said they feel more interested after receiving a meme from someone, even if they don’t think it’s funny.

According to a new study from Tinder, Gen Z singles say that they are changing a lot of the norms surrounding dating and relationships that were popular with previous generations.

The Future of Dating Report found that 75 percent of Gen Z respondents feel that they are challenging these norms that were “passed down to them,” according to Mashable. Tinder also noted that Gen Z, specifically users aged 18 to 25, make up more than half of its user base.

For one, Gen Z daters choose to respond quickly to messages as opposed to previous generations who would delay for fear of looking too eager. Instead of waiting for “the perfect time” to respond, 77 percent of Tinder users now respond to a match within 30 minutes, and 40 percent respond within five minutes, according to Relevant Magazine.

Bumble is expanding its suite of apps with the acquisition of Official, an app that helps people improve their relationships through check-ins and date planning, according to Fast Company.

Networking and friendship building are already part of Bumble’s platform, and Official adds to the mix to encourage couples to better communicate and set intentions in their relationships.

Official will remain a standalone app for now instead of being folded into Bumble’s app, though CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd told Fast Company that there were opportunities for the two platforms to “collaborate.” Couples who met on another app will also be able to sign up for Official, which means joining Bumble’s userbase. With the addition of Official, Bumble is seizing on an opportunity to keep people on its platforms even after they’ve met and formed a relationship.

A study from The International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health shows that there is a link between dating apps and a negative impact on mental health.

The research showed that there was a link between dating app usage and increased experiences of loneliness, dissatisfaction with life, and feeling excluded from the world, according to Scripps News.

This disconnect has been something that dating app users have experienced and lamented about over the years – specifically, that these platforms are meant to connect people but many of these types of connections can feel temporary or pointless because of behavior like ghosting. Part of the challenge with finding romantic partners on dating apps is that there is an overwhelming amount of choice, and many users feel tempted to keep looking, even when they meet someone they are interested in, which contributes to more behavior like ghosting.

Dating app Tinder announced it will be removing social media handles from user profiles and has revised community guidelines to prevent users from advertising and self-promoting. It will also request that users not share private chats in public settings.

The dating app company said in a press release: “Tinder is not a place to promote businesses to try making money. Members shouldn’t advertise, promote, or share social handles or links to gain followers, sell things, fundraise, or campaign.”

Self-promotion has become an issue on its platform according to Engadget. To curb this kind of behavior, the company said it will be removing social handles from public profiles and prohibit the sharing of other promotional information such as links to online stores or websites.