With Mobile Phones in Our Lives, Online Dating Doesn't Have to Feel Like "Online Dating"

Image provided by Newborn Town

The following post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga.

With Match Group’s 2021 revenue expected to exceed $3 billion, you can’t say Tinder hasn’t figured out how to monetize dating. 

However, apps like Tinder and Bumble are increasingly becoming entertainment products—used to pass the time rather than make real connections or even meet people—than dating apps. 

One poll by Esquire Magazine and an independent third-party research company asked people about their relationships and dating life satisfaction. It found that 63% of people polled use Tinder out of boredom rather than with an explicit intention to meet anyone. 

On the other hand, people are realizing that apps made for online entertainment, like Instagram, can cultivate real in-person connections.

Many publications have picked up stories based on anecdotal evidence that people are turning to Instagram, Twitter, and even LinkedIn, to connect with romantic partners.  

"While dating apps have positively impacted the romance landscape for many of us, social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram might be better for vetting," said a Quartz article. 

“Instagram is now a dating platform, too,” proclaims a New York Times piece.

While Tinder’s profits grow, is it just selling hope to lonely people addicted to the possibility of sparks every time they get a match? Or, is it more like Netflix, providing an entertainment service that helps people pass their boredom?

Dating Online Need Not Mean Online Dating

According to research conducted by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, swipe-based apps like Tinder are neither effective for helping users get more one-night stands nor long-term relationships. 

"For people who don't pull off one-night stands without using Tinder, Tinder doesn't offer much in the way of new opportunities," said postdoctoral fellow Trond Viggo Grøntvedt in an interview with Phys.org. 

“According to this and previous studies, Tinder is not a very effective way to meet a long-term partner, either.”

This is especially true in places where online dating has always been the exception to the rule. In more conservative countries, young people want to meet new people online, but dating apps have a social stigma. 

Hence, in the Middle East, the most popular dating apps aren’t really dating apps at all. And it doesn’t mean that people do not want to make new friends and, potentially, romantic partners. Apps like YoHo and MICO are increasingly popular ways for young people to meet. 

In the Middle East, YoHo, which is a chatroom app similar to Clubhouse except with more interactive features, has grown to one of the top voice-based apps in the region. MICO, a live-streaming and video social app, now has more than 100 million users and still grows fast, especially in Gen Z.

Whereas region-specific dating apps like Harmonica and MuzMatch have tried in various roundabout ways to differentiate themselves from Western dating apps—e.g. with minders monitoring the conversations to keep things PG-13, a lack of photos, etc.—live networking apps can let people meet without this added pressure.

Live social networking brings people together and encourages them to interact and chat with each other. As it turns out, they more closely reflect the dynamics of meeting a potential romantic interest in the pre-online world. (Let’s not forget, Tinder was originally built as an app for quick, shallow flings, not long-term relationships.) 

Traditionally, people would meet new acquaintances, both new friends and romantic interests, in social settings not specifically built around dating. If you were attracted to someone and things clicked, you could exchange numbers and see where things go. 

While dating apps have clearly carved out their place in society, especially in the West, live social networking now provides a throwback social setting vibe conducive to meeting people. With the majority of people around the world not specifically seeking a partner online, apps that have this more spontaneous environment have seen rapid growth.

“Live social networking lets people meet through their mobile devices in a fun and pressure-free way, with no preconditions attached,” says LI Ping, the CEO of Newborn Town, which owns MICO and YoHo. “Our core principle is to foster meaningful connections, whatever that may look like for any one of the millions of users.”

The preceding post was written and/or published as a collaboration between Benzinga’s in-house sponsored content team and a financial partner of Benzinga. Although the piece is not and should not be construed as editorial content, the sponsored content team works to ensure that any and all information contained within is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge and research. This content is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.