Lockdown opens the door to Cupid

CHENNAI: Jemima Vaz, a communications professional who ended a long-term relationship recently signed up on a dating app last month as the pandemic made her realise the importance of finding and connecting with someone on an emotional level. Dating apps now position themselves as ways to find potential partners and not just for casual chats.
The second wave of the pandemic has led to a 20% to 25% surge in new users signing up for dating apps. as people look toward such platforms for an emotional connection in difficult times.
Besides audio and video chat features for dating to go virtual, the Covid-19 vaccination status of a match has also emerged as an ‘X factor’. Dating apps TOI spoke to said that those vaccinated and with intention to get vaccinated are now flaunting the milestone on their profiles.
“In the last one month we’ve seen around 28% user growth and 25% increase in daily active users,” Able Joseph, founder and CEO of dating app Aisle, said. When the lockdown hit last year, we saw a surge in the number of installs due to boredom, but as time passed we noticed users are looking for potential longterm partners and don’t’ want to spend another lockdown alone, he added. More users above the age of 30 are upgrading to premium accounts sooner than before on Aisle.
Dating app Bumble’s nationwide survey revealed that one in three (38%) single Indians hope to see themselves in a committed relationship in 2021. “Since India went into lockdown in March 2020, more than one in two chats turned into something more meaningful with a large number of messages being exchanged,” Samarpita Samaddar, communications director, Bumble India, said.
Personal beliefs around health and specifically the Covid-19 vaccine are now a deal breaker in the search for a partner. Based on questions for users on the dating app OkCupid, those who said they will take the Covid-19 vaccine received 25% more likes and resulting conversations than those who answered no. 41% women went so far as to say they would cancel a date with an anti-vaxxer compared to 30% men. “There were higher engagements with a potential partner where the intentions are clear of wanting love by expressing exactly what they want in a relationship,” Anukool Kumar, marketing director, OkCupid, said. OkCupid has seen over 26% rise in conversations from March 2020 till date.
Dating app TrulyMadly has seen a 25-30% surge in “almost all engagement metrics” during the last few weeks compared to the same time last year.