offee and a walk in the park, or a trip to the neighbourhood cafe, allow them to get to know someone they connected on a dating app in a lower pressure setting as people take time to get to know each other better
For many people day-dates or activity-based dates have become the go-to now
It’s 2023 and life seems to have gone back to ‘normal’, at least in some sense of the word as we eit. During the pandemic people really evaluated what they wanted out of a romantic relationship and how they wanted to get it. This time and space gave us time to reflect on who and how we want to date. For many people day-dates or activity-based dates have become the go-to now. Coffee and a walk in the park, or a trip to the neighbourhood cafe, allow them to get to know someone they connected on a dating app in a lower pressure setting as people take time to get to know each other better.
2022 taught us some lessons about what we want and how to best articulate our needs and boundaries. Following 2022’s year of rediscovery, Bumble’s global research suggests that 2023 will be more focused on challenging the status quo and finding more balance in the way we date.
According to the dating app, we should be optimistic about dating in 2023 with 70% of people around the world saying they feel positive about the romance that lies ahead, a trend that is even more prevalent in India, with 81% of Indian respondents feeling positive about dating as we head into 2023.
The dating app has identified the latest new trends shaping India’s dating culture, from Dry Dating (alcohol-free dates) to Open Casting (looking beyond one’s type), highlighting how Indians are redefining what dating means in 2023.
Dry Dating
Per the app’s recent research, 32% single Indians feel their relationship with alcohol has changed during the pandemic and they prefer drinking a lot less now than before. In fact, more than half (51%) Indians are now more likely to consider going on a ‘dry date’ than they were pre-pandemic. Globally, this trend is observed even higher amongst GenZ who are bucking the ‘Dry Dating’ trend opting not to drink on a date at all.
Open Casting
It’s time to do away with the tall, dark, and handsome requirements as the narrow search for our physical ‘type’ is not serving us. The opposite of type-casting, open casting refers to how 1 in 3 (38%) people are now more open to who they consider dating beyond their ‘type’ and 1 in 4 (28%) of us are placing less emphasis on dating people that others ‘expect’ them to. What are we looking for? The overwhelming majority of people (63%) are now more focused on emotional maturity than physical requirements.
Guardrailing
With the return of office culture and busy social schedules, the majority of people are feeling overwhelmed right now. This has forced us all to prioritise our boundaries and more than half (52%) have established more boundaries over the last year. This includes being clearer about our emotional needs and boundaries (63%), being more thoughtful and intentional about how we put ourselves out there (59%), and not overcommitting socially (53%).
Love-life Balance:
There has been a shift in the way we think about, and value, our work and our partner’s work. Gone are those days that our job titles and demanding work days are seen as a status symbol with half of people prioritising work-life balance (49%). When it comes to their partner, more than half of people care more about their work-life balance than their career status (54%). Over the past year, more than half of people (52%) are actively creating more space for breaks and rest and more than 1 in 10 (13%) will no longer date someone who has a very demanding job.
Wanderlove:
Looks like we’re after an eat, date, love moment with 1 in 3 (33%) people on the app globally saying that they are now more open to travel and relationships with people who are not in their current city. Post-pandemic work-from-home flexibility means that 1 in 8 (14%) of us have explored the idea of being a ‘digital nomad’, opening up how we think about who and where we date. In fact, 12% of Indians actually find it easier to date in another country.Â
Dating Renaissance:
Much like a well-known Queen B, many of us are having a renaissance with 1 in 3 (39%) people on the app having ended a marriage or serious relationship in the last two years. In fact, this is more prevalent in India, where people are now jumping into their second chapter with 42% of Indians using dating apps for the first time, learning to navigate new dating language and codes.
