Studies

Image: OkCupid

As we go into 2021, the pandemic and increased political engagement have shifted dating culture and the priorities of singles, according to a new study by OkCupid. The dating app found that its users are into so-called “Thunberging” and “Advo-dating,” according to Australia’s Body and Soul Magazine.

Advo-dating has come into vogue for 2021, with about 310,000 OkCupid users calling themselves activists, and even more sharing that political values are most important when choosing a match. The global protests for Black Lives Matter played an important role in placing politics front and center in new relationships, especially among young daters, who want their dates to share their values.

Image: Bumble

Dating app Bumble is offering its users a guidebook for dating as we enter the new year, after COVID disrupted social norms in 2020.

The company conducted a survey of its users to find that 40% admitted they no longer knew how to date in person, and a whopping 2/3 of respondents said navigating the COVID dating landscape made them uncomfortable. Bumble responded by offering a new guidebook entitled Bumble’s New Dating 101 in 2021 to carve a path forward for these uncertain daters. The guide includes how to have a conversation about dating, how to approach sex and intimacy, and how to safeguard your mental health during a pandemic. 

Image: okcupid

A new study by dating app OkCupid found that politics and the pandemic are the two biggest forces shaping the dating experience, giving us a clue about what dating will look like in 2021.

The company surveyed two million of its users to find out how 2020 is shaping their view of dating, and what if anything has changed. According to Mashable, OkCupid published its Future of Dating report based on its analysis of 450 million responses they received from these users. The biggest impact on dating has been political engagement and polarization – notably in an important election year. A majority of 64% of respondents said they preferred to date someone who shared their political views, up from previous years when politics did not play such a major factor in deciding whether or not to date someone. In fact, this number jumped 7% since 2019, and 60% of respondents said they wouldn’t even consider dating someone with opposing political views.

Dressing up for Halloween? You might want to reconsider your scary or political-themed ensemble and go for something funny, according to a new study from Dating.com.

The dating service surveyed its users to assess the differences a Halloween costume could make in attracting potential partners. Considering this is an election year in the U.S., political costumes might be popular, but it seems the vast majority of daters – 70% of respondents - are most attracted to people wearing funny costumes. 

Cute costumes came in a distant second at 18 percent, and scary costumes third at 13 percent. Political costumes were a definite no among both men and women. They were considered the least attractive costumes for 68 percent of men and 52 percent of women. So, if you were planning on dressing as Joe Biden or Donald Trump, you might want to come up with another plan.

OkCupid Voter 2020 Badge

Image: OkCupid

Several popular dating apps including OkCupid, Tinder and Bumble are encouraging their users to vote through in-app promotions, according to The Hill.

As election season in the U.S. gets underway, many grassroots organizations are asking volunteers to make sure all eligible people, especially first-time voters, register to vote. Many non-profit groups are hoping to capture the attention of young people and get them excited about voting, and one of the strategies is to engage dating app users.

A new survey from dating app Luxy found that American online daters differ from daters in other countries in terms of how they feel about current political leaders and whether or not they want to talk about politics on dating apps.

According to Luxy, which markets itself to elite and affluent daters, 54% of American online daters surveyed said they would talk about politics on a dating app, compared to only 36% of respondents from other countries. Sixty-three percent of those surveyed from outside the U.S. said they never discuss politics on a dating app.

To understand how online daters are faring in the midst of the many crises happening right now, including the coronavirus, the protests, and the economic recession, Luxy asked users both in the U.S. and outside the U.S. how they feel about 2020 so far. Luxy found that 40% of Americans are finding this year to be “extremely bad” or “quite hard,” compared to only 23% of those surveyed from other countries.