Seniors

Seniors are a growing demographic of online daters, and they are flocking to popular dating apps, including Tinder, according to a recent study.

Independent insurance group Choice Mutual found that about one third of seniors who have dated in the last five years have looked to dating apps to meet people. In addition, two thirds of those using dating apps have found relationships with someone they met through the platforms, according to Forbes. 

Some top choices of apps were Tinder, Match and Hinge, with 35 percent of respondents saying Tinder was the platform where they met the person they were dating. Twenty-eight percent said they had the best luck on Match, 25 percent had found someone either on Hinge or Plenty of Fish, and 24 percent had found their significant other on Bumble.

Dating and social app Stitch has seen a growth of new users as people around the world began to isolate at home. The app is geared towards adults over 50 who are looking for community as well as a date.

Stitch is a non-profit focused on helping older adults address loneliness and social isolation, a growing problem as the virus continues to spread. Stitch notes that if you’re over 60 and experiencing loneliness, it has the same negative impact on health outcomes as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. And while Stitch markets itself primarily as a social app for making friends, it also allows people to meet potential dates.

Older adults are most impacted by the coronavirus and are reaching out to new people online more than ever. Stitch has seen its membership rise to 150,000 members in the UK, US, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.

Boomers are looking for love and increasingly turning to dating apps to do it. But Tinder isn’t necessarily what they are looking for.

BBC reported that the demographics with the biggest growth for dating app usage are 18-24-year-olds and those over 50. Between 2013 and 2015 when Tinder began to take off, online dating tripled for the younger demographic and doubled for those aged 55-64, according to Pew Research Center.

However, older daters were finding obstacles in using popular apps like Tinder that continue to cater to young users. For example, when Tinder launched its premium paid service, the company charged significantly more for older users, which caused an outcry. Some dating apps don’t let people over 50 sign up at all, so boomers were either having to lie about their ages or look for another platform. 

When it comes to dating apps, Andrey Andreev is no neophyte. The Russian entrepreneur is the founder of Badoo, an investor and advisor for Bumble, and a key player in the growth of Blendr, Huggle, and Chappy. He may be the industry’s most prolific matchmaker, and he’s making headlines again with new venture for senior singles.

Andreev and co-founders Antoine Argouges and Charly Lester have announced the launch of Lumen, a dating app specifically designed for singles over 50. Though it’s not the first dating service to target the underserved mature market, it hopes to best competitors by providing a modern and fun experience that knows what the niche is missing.

“Do a search of the phrase ‘over 50s dating’. The results that come up are embarrassing for the industry,” Andreev commented. “The over-50s have been mistreated by the dating sites for years. I’m excited to see the Lumen team launching an app which finally listens to this audience and specifically targets their issues and needs.”

Online dating may have started as a young person’s game, but it’s rapidly become a platform for singles of all kinds to make connections. Services like OurTime.com, Senior People Meet, and Stitch cater to older users in search of love and companionship, and now they’re joined by a new offering from Snap Interactive: 50more.

SNAP, a leading provider of live video social networking and interactive dating applications, announced the US rollout of its newest platform on July 12, 2017. 50more was built to celebrate life and the enduring potential for romance and enrichment for singles over 50 years of age. The service aims to create higher quality connections by matching based on three key compatibility factors: vitality, openness, and culture (VOC).

VOC-driven matching is rooted in scientific principles to effectively bring people together with similar interests, passions, and goals. The service sends users a selection of personalized introductions each day, carefully selected based on each individual’s VOC percentage, eliminating the need to spend hours searching for matches.

Baby boomers may be getting older, but online dating is proving that it will never get old.

OurTime.com is the largest dating community for singles aged 50 plus, which also makes it home to one of the fastest-growing demographics in the market. Boomer dating is experiencing a colossal boom, and OurTime.com is right at the front lines of the action.

According to the 2012 US census, more than 1/3 of the 107 million singles in the country are over the age of 50. But despite their growing numbers and increasing influence, the senior set is a dating demographic that is still largely misunderstood. OurTime is out to change that, with a new set of mature dating statistics that prove tech-savvy singles come in every age.

The 50+ singles scene is made up of a diverse group of daters:

• The membership ratio for OurTime.com is 45% men to 55% women.
• 69% of OurTime members are single parents.
• Nearly 70% have already been married at least once. 54% are divorced, and 15% are widowed. Only 50% of users in their 50s say they're interested in getting married again, a percentage which decreases dramatically once they reach their 60s (8%) and their 70s (5%).

Seniors don't have a reputation for being the most technologically advanced age group, but online dating is proving that they know their way around a computer just as well as their younger counterparts.

• OurTime members log-on an average of 44 times and view 81 profiles during a 90-day period.
• 1 in 5 Our Time members users a mobile device to log-on. Their device of choice? The iPad, of course.
• OurTime.com's membership has jumped 66% over the last two years.
• Senior dating has been particularly popular in Kansas City, MO, Tuscon, AZ, San Diego, CA, Rochester, NY, and St. Louis, MO.

Here's what singles are looking for in their more mature years:

• "Nature and Outdoors" is the #1 interest listed on profiles by both male and female OurTime members.
• For men, sports ranks second and fitness comes in third.
• For women, family and friends takes the #2 spot and travel comes in at #3.
• Physical attraction is also an important factor: 87% of singles ages 50-70 say it's a must-have.

"This is a vibrant, growing community of singles that's taking the dating scene by storm," said Dr. Terri Orbuch, relationship expert for OurTime.com, "and rightfully so. By and large this age group is happier, more secure, and even feeling sexier than their younger counterparts. They also are a better judge of the type of person who will make them happy, so it's the perfect stage of life to be looking for love."

It is clearly OurTime's time to shine. For more information on this dating site you can read our review of OurTime.