Category: Outlets – BBC

Can Online Dating Burnout Be Stopped?

Posted on June 30, 2022

Online dating burnoutBBC – "Decision fatigue", also called "dating app burnout" is a prevalent phenomenon in the app-based dating world. People grow tired of the endless scroll of potential dates. A recent Badoo survey showed more than three-quarters of singles felt burnt out by unrewarding interactions and inappropriate matches from platforms and apps. Hinge also found that 61% of users were overwhelmed by the dating process, which sometimes feels like "a second job". The design of dating apps can also create frustrations for burnt-out users. Many useful features are behind a paywall. It's also tricky to navigate multiple dating apps at once. Hopping between different interfaces can cause problems. Bumble's relationship expert Caroline West suggests approaching dating apps with more intention and to focus on quality over quantity. Bumble has a feature allowing fatigued users to "snooze" their activity so they can take a break and alert matches that they're doing so. For some people, a dating pause is exactly what they need.

by Jessica Klein
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Mark Brooks: This is a fascinating problem! I keep hearing this come up. Let's talk about this on Swell. Please join me and share your spoken opinion at https://www.swellcast.com/t/STABADJkij64REC.

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The Obstacles of Non-binary Dating

Posted on June 2, 2022

Non binary datingBBC – In the US, ~1.2M LGBTQ adults identify as non-binary, according to a 2021 study by the Williams Institute at UCLA School of Law. Identifying as non-binary means, simply, not defining one's gender within the male versus female binary. While many dating apps allow users to identify as non-binary, their profiles still get lumped in with men or women when it comes to how other users of the app can view them. Users on Bumble can choose who they'd like to be seen by on the app, like if they want to be seen by "women, men, non-binary people, a selection of two options, or everyone". Then there are dating apps such as Lex, which primarily target users who identify as "queer, trans, gender non-conforming, two spirit, and non-binary".

by Jessica Klein
See full article at BBC

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Why People Behave Badly on Dating Apps

Posted on May 9, 2022

Dating appBBC – Cheating, ghosting and swiping – online dating brings out the worst in many people. "The screen mediates our courage, so we will do and say things online that we would never do in real life," says Dr Joanne Orlando, an Australia-based researcher and author who focuses on digital wellness. Dana Weiser, an associate professor at Texas Tech University, began collecting data from 550 undergraduate students about infidelity on Tinder, which was published in a 2018 study. 64% reported seeing someone on Tinder whom they knew to be in an exclusive relationship, 17% of the study's participants themselves admitted to messaging someone on Tinder while in a relationship, and 7% said they'd had a sexual experience with someone they met on Tinder while dating someone else. A 2016 survey by Plenty of Fish showed 80% of respondents between 18 and 33 years old reported having at least one relationship end via ghosting. 35% of respondents to the 2020 Pew Research Center study reported someone had sent them an "explicit message or image they didn't ask for" on a dating app, and that number rose to 57% among female users aged 18 to 34.

by Jessica Klein
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The Thursday Dating App That Only Works One Day a Week

Posted on May 6, 2022

Thursday logoBBC – George Rawlings, 29, wanted to make dating less complicated and launched Thursday from his bedroom last year. He hoped by narrowing the app to one day it would give users a sense of urgency to organise a date straight away and cut down on small talk. It has been downloaded 750K times in the last nine months. Mr Rawlings says he chose Thursdays because his previous dating app – Honeypot – peaked on a Thursday, with about double the number of people logging on compared to other days.

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‘Single Shaming’: Why People Judge Singles

Posted on April 8, 2022

Single shamingBBC – Asking why someone is 'still' single and assuring them they'll 'find their person soon' may seem like thoughtful, even sensitive, ways to check in on single friends. However, these simple phrases constitute 'single shaming' – and they're likely to be more harmful than helpful. Data from a survey by dating service Match, shows 52% of 1K single UK adults reported experiencing single shaming "since the start of the pandemic", likely due to the increased focus on whom people could rely on during lockdowns. And even though 59% said they were "content with their relationship status", they still were the target of intrusive questions. Match asked about the common "shaming phrases" single people have heard from others, and 35% said they were told "you'll find someone soon". 29% heard "you must be so lonely", while 38% reported general pity over their relationship status. Bumble's research from October 2021, showed that 53% of Bumble users surveyed "realized that it's okay to be alone for a while", thanks to the pandemic.

by Jessica Klein
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Dating Apps Accused of Ignoring Sexual Assault

Posted on February 25, 2022

Top dating apps picBBC – The number of reported sexual offences linked to dating apps doubled between 2017 and 2020. Young people from across the UK have told BBC Three that their reports of sexual assault and harassment were ignored by dating apps. A survey carried out for new BBC Three documentary Dating's Dangerous Secrets, suggests a quarter of people who have used dating platforms in the last four years experienced sexual assault while on a date, whilst a third said they experienced harassment or abuse on a dating app. Of those who said they'd reported someone to the service, almost half said they were dissatisfied with the dating platform's response. Many of the free dating apps and platforms do not carry out mandatory identity verification, meaning anyone with a phone number and email address can sign up to their services. Tinder announced last year that they would roll out the option to verify your account on the platform, but this is currently still voluntary.

by Hannah Price
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Bumble Closes Its Offices to Give ‘Burnt-out’ Staff a Week’s Break

Posted on June 22, 2021

Bumble icon 2020BBC – June 24 – Bumble has temporarily closed all of its offices this week to combat workplace stress. Its 700 staff worldwide have been told to switch off and focus on themselves.

by Dearbail Jordan
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In 2021, Everyone Is a Kind-of Catfish

Posted on April 20, 2021

CatfishtvshowBBC – Apr 20 – It was back in 2010 when the word "catfish" took on a new meaning – someone who uses a fake identity online to target specific victims. The phrase came from documentary maker Nev Schulman, who fell in love with a 19-year-old girl online, only to find out she was actually a housewife using fake photos and a false story to chat to others online. Nev turned his story into an incredibly successful documentary and reality TV show, which after eight seasons in the US, is now getting a UK version. It's hosted by radio presenter Julie Adenuga and journalist Oobah Butler – and they say catfishing is now a completely different beast in 2021. Everyone is kind of a catfish as photo editing is so common that people often don't look like their Instagram profile in real life.

by Annabel Rackham
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The Tech Billionaire Who Is Putting Women First

Posted on April 8, 2021

Bumble whitney wolfe herd screenshotBBC – Apr 8 – The co-founder of dating app Bumble, Whitney Wolfe Herd, has joined Forbes list of the super-rich. The 31-year-old became the world's youngest self-made female billionaire when she took Bumble public in February. Before Bumble, she was among the founding team at Tinder but after tensions with other executives – one of whom she had been dating – she left. The central focus of her app is that only women can initiate a conversation in heterosexual matches. She founded Bumble with help from early investor Russian billionaire Andrey Adreev, who also had a stake in Badoo, both of which he sold in November 2019. Ms Wolfe Herd owns a 11.6% stake in Bumble, giving her an estimated net worth of $1.3B. She also heads Badoo. The two apps have a combined 40M users, 2.4M of whom pay a subscription.

by Jane Wakefield
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The Rise of Multi-partner Relationships

Posted on March 26, 2021

Feeld logoBBC – Mar 27 – In 2016, a survey of 9K single US adults showed that one in five had previously been in a consensually non-monogamous relationship. A Canadian survey came up with roughly the same numbers a year later. Multiple non-monogamy-geared dating apps make it easy to find others looking for multiple partner relationships or sexual experiences. On Feeld, a poly and kink dating app, 60% of couples are looking for a third, says a company spokesperson.

by Jessica Klein
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