Category: Outlets – USA Today
OkCupid: Millennials Say Personal Politics Can Make Or Break A Relationship
USA TODAY – Oct 17 – New data from OkCupid shows politics is playing an increasingly important role in dating. 85% of millennial men and women said voting was "extremely or very important" to them. Melissa Hobley, CMO at OkCupid, said the data reflects a growing trend among millennial users: voting with your dating app. Hobley said that since President Donald Trump's inauguration, OkCupid has seen a "massive spike" in political terms on user profiles. The data show that politics is the "dealbreaker or dealmaker" for many OkCupid users, Hobley said. In many cases, respondents said they would not date someone who didn't share their political beliefs. 73% of millennial women and 56% of millennial men said they would prefer a partner who votes for the same party they do. 75% of women said they wouldn't date someone who didn't support the #MeToo movement, and 46% wouldn't date a nonvoter. However, 77% of men said they'd date someone who didn't vote.
Young People Are Embracing Single Life, Tinder Finds
USA TODAY – Oct 8 – Millennials are "single, not sorry," and they're making the choice to live life solo intentionally, according to a new survey from Tinder. 72% of the surveyed young Millennials "have made a conscious decision" to stay single for a period of time. More than half said single people were more open to new experiences and that they view themselves as more fun due to their single status.
Comedian Norm MacDonald Launches Video Dating App – LOKO
USA TODAY – Sep 7 – Comedian Norm MacDonald just co-created a new video dating app, LOKO. The LOKO app came out of a corporate gig, where he met Canadian entrepreneur Vivek Jain, who complained about his lack of success finding dates. The two decided to combine forces and come up with an app that would eliminate the awkwardness of a first date. It's the first video-only app, in that the only way to communicate with people is with video. After downloading the app, users register and record an 8-second video intro. Once approved other users can see it and respond.
People Are Talking About Sexual Consent. Would An App Help?
USA TODAY – Feb 20 – One in five women say they have been sexually assaulted while in college, according to the National Sexual Violence Resource Center. The growing awareness of sexual assault on college campuses prompted California and New York to mandate a "yes means yes" standard for universities, meaning if an agreement to physical intimacy didn't happen, it wasn't consensual. We-Consent and Sa-Sie were among the first to attempt a digital solution with apps that allowed partners to check "yes" when they agreed to sex. Now, LegalFling is joining the consent-by-click market, with the added cachet of being blockchain-based. Ari Moskowitz, an editor and novelist, says he thinks it's "a cool idea, theoretically" although he foresees practical issues. ("Hold on, lemme charge my phone so you can sign a contract!") Also, someone who is coercing a vulnerable person into sex will figure out a way to coerce a click on the app first. But the real elephant in the room is that consent can change.
Match.com Singles Study: What ‘Good Sex’ Really Means To Singles
Online Dating Safety Tips
Peak Dating Season Is Coming, According To Match
USA TODAY – Dec 20 – According to Match, peak dating season begins Dec. 26 and runs through Valentine's Day, with the dating site seeing 50M messages sent and 1M dates taking place during peak season. Online dating's busiest day of the year falls on Sunday, Jan. 7. Match says 8:55PM ET on Jan. 7 is the best time to sign up for online dating, when Match plans to see a 42% spike in new singles looking for love.
STDs On The Rise, And Dating Apps May Be Paying A Role
USA TODAY – July 11 – Syphilis is on the rise and public health experts think it can be attributed at least partly to social media. Infection rates are the highest they have been in 20 years, said David Harvey, the executive director of the National Coalition of STD Directors. From 2014 to 2015 alone, the number of syphilis cases reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) rose by 17.7%, from 63K to 75K. It is important for dating apps to promote STD awareness and prevention, says Philip Chan, the director of the HIV/STD Testing and Prevention Services at the Miriam Hospital Immunology Center in Rhode Island. Tinder has a "Safety Tips" section under the app's "Settings" that discusses protection measures. Gay dating apps in particular are starting to do more of this, he said. Grindr has a "Sexual Health" section on each user's profile where the user can list HIV status and the last time they were tested. Manhunt partners with Manhunt Cares, an organization that provides health resources for its users and the LGBTQ community at large.
by Sarah Toy
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iPhone Celebrates 10th Birthday
USA TODAY – June 30 – It has been 10 years since Apple launched its most revolutionary product, the iPhone, one of the best-selling products of all time. Then along came apps, a popular and lucrative industry. The iPhone made millionaires out of these app makers:
- Evan Spiegel and Bobby Murphy, Snapchat
- Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger, Instagram
- Mikael and Niklas Hed, Angry Birds
- Sean Rad and Justin Mateen, Tinder
The app launched in the iOS app store in 2012. It initially targeted college students, with 90% of users 18 to 24 years old. The user base continued to grow rapidly and by 2013, there were 7B profiles on Tinder. Tinder said it produces 26M matches per day and has accounted for ~20B matches since its launch. It continues to be in the top 100 overall apps on the iOS app store.