COVID changes prompt dating apps to adapt
Dating app Bumble releases quarterly earnings today. Now that many pandemic restrictions have been lifted this summer, will people stick to the online habits learned during lockdowns for meeting dates? Online dating apps are adapting as the pandemic evolves.
Do you want a first date on video? Or are you okay with meeting in real life? Are masks a must? Or not so much?
These are the kinds of questions dating apps are asking users to try and gauge their preferences.
Arizona State University communications professor Liesel Sharabi said there are badges for people to post whether they’ve been vaccinated.
“Some people aren’t okay meeting up with somebody in person, if they don’t know their vaccination status,” Sharabi said.
The mobile data tracking company Apptopia stated that new users of the top 50 dating apps are flat year over year, but people who have downloaded the apps are staying on longer and swiping more.
Forrester researcher Mike Proulx said that likely has to do with the COVID-19 delta variant.
“That is just going to keep people inside. And when they’re inside we see their screen time continues to increase,” he said, adding that dating apps are responding by creating game-like features and other content designed to keep people in the app even longer.
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