There are always some industries that do well in times of strife. A year into the coronavirus when it was declared a global health emergency by the WHO, we see that food delivery companies, grocery chains, video communications companies, Netflix and, of course, Amazon are flourishing during this social and economic upheaval. If you take something like Zoom: nobody could have known that the relatively-niche video streaming platform would become such an important part of our lives within the space of a few months.
But one of the early ‘winners’ (and we want to use that term respectfully) of the pandemic was the online dating industry. Within days of the first lockdown last March, dating apps, which were already growing in popularity (albeit, there were some signs of online dating fatigue), saw unprecedented surges in new registrations. Pretty soon, they became part of the new normal in dating, as people adjusted to finding love and connections in a time when physical contact was not always possible.
Will online dating flourish if Covid disappears?
And yet, can we muse about what happens after? Experts have warned that Covid is something we might have to live with for years, but the success of vaccines suggests that we should return to some semblance of normality. The movie theaterswill open again, as will the bars, clubs, coffee shops and restaurants. For some, it might be a welcome relief to pursue the traditional ways of dating again. But others might have been bitten by the online dating bug. Most experts predict that online dating will continue to grow (but not as quickly) through 2021 and 2022, with new registrations plateauing around 2023.
Last spring, we saw an initial surge in the use of dating apps. With big players like Match and Tinder seeing double-digit growth by the end of the year. However, there were some interesting details within those figures. At first younger people flocked to using dating apps when the pandemic initially struck. Whereas the increase in older users didn’t happen until later in the year. That tells us that younger people were keen to jump on board and move dating to the virtual world. Older folks were a bit more hesitant, but they came around after a few months.
Daters have had to learn patience
Younger and older people generally operate in different spheres of the online dating world. Younger people are more likely to embrace casual interactions. An option like Flirt, which you can see a review of when you check out this URL, is geared towards those looking no-strings connections. It’s based on physical attraction and flirting rather than traditional matchmaking criteria. Older people, generally speaking, usually gravitate towards those that are, let’s say, a little less geared towards casual hookups.
