Evolution is part of life, and it is accelerating. Changes are becoming more numerous and rapid. Technologies are entering our lives at a dizzying pace. The world we know today will be very different from the world we will find in a couple of years. Human relationships have characteristics that make them maintain their essence, no matter how much things around them change. But when we talk about the world of dating, we cannot say the same.
Today it is no longer enough to meet someone online and chat. Going out and meeting someone interesting doesn’t take much these days either. What options do we have left? People demand more and need more. There are already many dating websites and apps users looking forward to the arrival of technological development in the world of online dating. And the possibilities are endless!
How The Internet Has Radically Changed the Dating Landscape of Dating
Although online dating still has a bad reputation, it has brought many positive developments to our societies. Online dating services have greatly helped women to emancipate themselves. Nowadays, it is still not well perceived that a woman, compared to men, has multiple relationships, and lives her life any way she wants, without being constantly judged. With the democratization of online dating services, women can lead their own private lives without justifying anything to anyone. This change has been a natural positive development for our societies, and online dating has so much more to offer.
Online Dating Websites
The adoption of online dating services and their democratization for a younger generation happened with the emergence of services like Tinder, which were mostly free to use.
The industry has gone through 2 main eras.
The 2000s – Beginning of the online dating business. With the democratization of the internet, online dating services have begun to appear, with Match.com in 1993 and Meetic in 2001. These online services have professionalized the service and made online dating more accessible. They have digitized matchmaking agencies by allowing people to upload their “CV” online and contact anyone on the platform (for a fee to get someone). It has mainly attracted adults (35+).
Dating Apps
2010’s: The Dating Supermarket. When online dating was still taboo for the younger generation, Tinder managed to democratize its use by introducing a straightforward service to use and, most importantly, accessible. Seven years after its launch, an entire generation downloads a dating app when they’re single.
Algorithms, apps, and virtual encounters have simplified the selection and courtship processes. And with the pandemic and restrictions, the use of these platforms to meet people and flirt has become routine. Many social relationships have ceased to be face-to-face, and we have become more solitary and network consumers, which have become part of our daily lives.
Dating In Pandemic
Like so many things people used to take for granted, going on a date has changed considerably during Covid 19.
Gone are the days of sharing the same spoon over ice cream at restaurants or shaking hands at the movies — okay, maybe that’s an overly romanticized view of dating. Instead, we have become accustomed to walking with social distance and sending messages to each other online.
Dating In Metaverse
For dating applications, the announcement of the creation of the metaverse – a virtual reality created by Facebook so that people can interact with each other – opens a new door for relationships and continues increasing the volume of their business. This update will mean a radical change since the body will be less present and the mind more. People will be able to maintain better intimacy with their partners in long-distance relationships.
There are years left for the required technology on which the metaverse will function. However, this is not a problem for many companies that announced their foray into virtual worlds, intoxicated by a potential that grows.
Another company that sees its future passing through the metaverse is Tinder. The dating app plans to create a Tinderverse with the aim of “blurring the lines between offline and online”. While this is happening, Tinder is testing a currency within the app to pay for premium services.
The Future of Dating: What to Expect
Dating apps have been around us for more than a decade, and their popularity remains moderate and not too high in terms of uniqueness and excellent onboarding. This feature is also because the dating apps in the current scenario are more or less the same. People always get a very minimalist difference in dating website design. They must resort to original and creative flirting techniques to court the other.
This characteristic creates excitement in users’ minds to find more advanced apps to get better dating provisions, such as interesting questions or jokes. Light-hearted humour and laughter never hurt anyone.
A good user interface is fundamental in dating apps. Online dating portal development comes into play then, and we can put together a list of features and essentials that are sure to be found in future dating apps.
More Diversity in Online Dating in The Future
Many social media apps instantly like or dislike a person without learning much about them, which has also brought many repercussions. Many people show their interest in others based on the number of followers. They swipe through a person’s profile by looking at their profile pictures on apps like Tinder. Racism, fatphobia, and misogyny are all out there.
Sexual and gender fluidity has improved and advanced in recent years. It is possible to develop a dating app interface that provides more options to people looking for dating experiences rather than just hanging out. Future dating apps don’t need to be genuinely gender and sex-specific but should be inclusive and enriching.
Increased Focus on Privacy
Access to data such as peoples’ location, workplace, name, contact information, etc., makes them vulnerable to cyberbullying or even physical bullying, as well as doxing (whereby previously private information goes public to harm or embarrass the victim). Pure is the only app that prevents users from taking a screenshot of a chat, and Mamba is the only one that allows users to blur their photos for free. This feature allows users to share their conversations and pictures without their permission, potentially for blackmail or doxing purposes.
However, many applications have added paid versions, including additional security options. For example, in the paid versions of Bumble and Tinder, you can manually choose your location in a specific region. Since only an area is available instead of a certain distance, determining the exact location is much more difficult. And some paid versions of the apps, for example, Happn, offer users “incognito mode,” whereby they can hide their profile from non-swipes and strangers.
More Innovative Dating Experience With AI
Machine learning technology can become part of dating apps to allow your device to detect better and analyze your likes and dislikes. Social media application development based on artificial intelligence and machine learning can make better predictions. You will gain insight into your personality to find the right dating partner from your behavioral analysis.
The amount of time you take to reply to a message or chat, the number of hours you spend in the app, the most conversations you watch, and many other factors. Several apps have come up with such ideas in the UK by adding matching learning techniques in their online dating app.
Fewer Fake Profiles
The new dating website design must provide a more innovative and safer user interface. People often stay away from online dating apps because they want to avoid the risk of getting caught up in some fake accounts and interactions.
One can only see how much information the account chooses to present to us. There is always a plausible possibility that the crimes, catfish, misuse the data that we share with them in such cases.
More Focus on Issues Like Body Shaming
‘More image, less text’. In 2021 more ‘human’ connections have taken hold as daters have abandoned traditional interactions consisting of writing instant messages in favour of talking through voice notes and video calls for more intimate interactions. There has been an exciting change in the way singles have used technology this year. The most unmistakable evidence has been the great reception of video calls within the app as an alternative to physical appointments. The Badoo ‘Love Map’ shows that the most extended video call this week was 10 hours, with users watching TV together, cooking and even sleeping, a trend never seen before.
Increased Focus on Self-Care
Singles have taken time to reflect on themselves, spending more time focusing on their own needs and preferences. A new type of single has been born, more concerned about their well-being, with a new vision for those open to dating, beyond superficial comments. With more time for self-reflection this year, the focus is less on what others want to know and more on how they honestly like to express themselves. This feature allows singles to be more open to dating people they may never have considered before.
Conclusion
Technology will not stop, and the changes will not stop surprising us. It is difficult, almost impossible, to know the future of online dating, but we can guarantee one thing: technology will be a fundamental part of it.
About the Author/s
The New Jersey Digest is a new jersey magazine that has chronicled daily life in the Garden State for over 10 years.
