What did we do right? Where did we go wrong? And what did 2019 have to say about dating apps in general?
According to The Year in Swipe, Tinder learned a lot about the next generation. Gen Z took over Tinder. People under 25 officially make up the majority of the Tinder community and the way they chat, “catch feelings” and share emojis is giving Tinder, and everyone else a glimpse into the future of dating. According to Tinder: it’s looking pretty bright.
This year singles went in search of someone who was ‘Lit,’ could spill the ‘Tea,’ ‘Stanned’ the same things they did, and were on a similar ‘Mission’ to save the world.
Dating profiles are filled with travel photos. People like to show off their adventurous side, but it turns out users weren’t necessarily looking for partners to travel with - but instead, to march with. Gen Zers were more likely to mention a desire to end climate change instead of a trip to Bali.
According to Tinder’s press release: “Gen Zers were more likely to mention Causes or Missions than Travel in their bios, a huge contrast to millennials, who were 3x more likely to tout Travel than Causes. Millennials connect over adventure, while Gen Z bonds over changing the world. Phrases like climate change, social justice, environment and gun control topped the list of what Gen Z cares about.”
And Tinder isn’t the only dating app noticing this trend. Gen Z and Millennial singles on OkCupid ranked the environment as more important than world peace, eradicating disease, and the economy.
Sure people are looking for someone who can help them change the world - but life isn’t just about climate marches and recycling. The 2019 singles of Tinder were also looking for someone to share their favourite music (Billie Eilish, Lizzo) or connect over female superheroes (Captain Marvel, Elizabeth Warren).
These topics popped to the top in Tinder bios in 2019:
Crazy, right?
As pride events kicked off, June saw the most matching days of any month in 2019. And LGBTQ+ pride didn't only run high in June! 30% more people used Tinder's More Genders feature this year compared to last and the rainbow emoji popped up in Tinder bios 15% more globally in 2019.
The company worked alongside the organization GLAAD to make dating on the app more inclusive.
Users can be more clear about their sexual orientation by simply editing their profile. When a Tinder user taps on the “orientation” selection they can choose up to three terms describing their sexual orientation. Users can also choose to make descriptions private or public.
Tinder saw more than 300 million emojis used in bios in 2019 but none were as representative of the year as the facepalm.
This year singles went in search of someone who was ‘Lit,’ could spill the ‘Tea,’ ‘Stanned’ the same things they did, and were on a similar ‘Mission’ to save the world.
If there’s one thing the younger generation is bonding over it’s the shared desire to Facepalm over what’s happening in the world. The app saw a 41% increase in the use of the emoji in Tinder bios and “fittingly, Facepalms were as diverse as Tinder, with every variation of the emoji making an appearance.”
