LA BUSINESS JOURNAL – Dating apps made $5.6B in revenue last year, with ~$3B being made by Match Group. Since the start of the pandemic, more people have turned to dating apps. In a publication titled "The Future of Dating is Fluid," Tinder pointed out that 2020 was an outstanding year. 60% of members came to Tinder because they felt lonely. 50% of Tinder's Gen Z users participated in a video chat, and 30% were playing online video games together. Those who tried virtual dating saw it as a low-pressure way to get a sense of someone and their personality. Hannah Shimko from the Online Dating Association said the pandemic made people more comfortable with being online. She added that new companies are trying to be innovative about bringing back in-person dating. One example is FROME, a dating app that encourages offline dates. When users sign on, they can choose "available today"or "available this week" to set up a date. When a user is interested in someone, they will send an invitation with a day, time and place. Once the other user confirms, they are locked to each other for the day and cannot connect with anyone else.
