“We met on a dating app.”

Sounds new to you? Not to most people anymore. Dating apps during the pandemic saw a surge in new users looking for companionship - whether platonic or romantic, we know for sure that the stigma of finding friendship and romance online is mostly a thing of the past.

Even at the start of the pandemic, one of our studies on online dating found that 58% of Singaporeans are open to online dating. Since then, how has the game changed?

Surveying 500 singles in Singapore who have experience with dating apps, we find out how preferences and goals have changed for them.

51% said that the pandemic has changed the ways they approach online dating

A historical turning point to the ways we live and work, the Covid-19 pandemic was characterised by strict movement restrictions and social isolation. In response, people flocked to dating apps during lockdowns, hoping to satisfy the need for social interactions that they were so deprived of.

Out of the 51% whose approach to online dating has changed, 48% said that their approach has now become more casual in these ways:

• More open to meeting new people who catch your interest (as opposed to intentionally searching for a ‘perfect match’) (51%)
• Prefer to have more casual dates (versus prioritizing having ‘serious’ conversations) (50%)
• Less intent to find a ‘serious’ partner and more open to just simply dating (50%)

Meanwhile, 34% has become more serious and 18% stopped using dating apps altogether.

Swipe, text, ghost: Only 21% found dating app experience satisfactory, 49% found it “passable”

The experience on dating apps, however, isn’t all rosy nor exciting as we thought. Reflecting on their overall experience, only 21% said that they were very or somewhat satisfied with dating apps, and 49% found it “passable”.

While dating apps were quick to piggyback on the increased demand for online social interactions, are users getting weary of the usual swipe-and-text app?

“Ghosting”, a term to describe cutting off contact with someone without warning or explanation, is a frequent occurrence on dating apps, and you would be more surprised to find someone who has yet to be ghosted or to ghost someone else. As normalised as it is, getting ghosted and left wondering what went wrong really isn’t a good feeling to have.

Discussing the phenomenon of “online dating burnout”, author of this BBC article, Jessica Klein accurately sums up the reason behind user frustrations on such dating apps:

“With the screen mediating person-to-person interactions, it’s easier for people not to see those they’re communicating with as human – they almost become characters in the game of online dating, instead – making it easier to not treat them humanely.”

Ok Cupid, people want to humanise dating again

In response to this fatigue, dating agencies have started offering more intimate forms of online dating, such as having meals through virtual calls between users. Think traditional matchmaking, but digitalised.

Our survey found that 68% of singles in Singapore are very or somewhat willing to try such alternative dating app, with a slight skew towards males who are “very willing” (16% versus 8% among females).

While technology affords convenience, too much convenience can end up feeling inhumane. The online dating landscape is turning towards reenabling the good ol’ human-to-human connection (again) through technology, but probably with a little more tact - just as first dates should.  

‍Reach out to us here for the results of this study conducted in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.

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Methodology:

Based on a Milieu Insight survey with N=500 singles in Singapore who have used online dating apps before, conducted in June 2022.

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