MASHABLE – eharmony's Dating Diaries report, based on a survey of ~2K people, highlights generational differences between millennials and Gen Z in attitudes towards sex and dating. The report shows that 91% of millennials in relationships have sex at least once a week, compared to 78% of Gen Z. However, Gen Z is more sexually explorative and is more likely to have unprotected sex. Millennials prioritize sexual chemistry, while Gen Z values emotional connection before engaging in sex. Gen Z is also more likely to use dating apps and social media for meeting partners and learning new things for sexual experiences, but 48% report experiencing dating app fatigue.
Category: Reporters – Anna Iovine
Bumble BFF Will Be a Standalone App
MASHABLE – BFF and Bizz have historically been available on the same app as Bumble Date, but according to a source, that's going to change. Bumble has been testing a standalone version of the BFF app in the UK and select Asian markets. The standalone app is expected to launch in the U.S. this summer. BFF represents 15% of the app's monthly active users.
Memes Are a Love Language, Hinge Says
MASHABLE – According to a survey by Hinge, memes have become a popular love language among daters. The survey, which involved 2K users, revealed that sending memes is the top preferred way to flirt before and after a first date. ~73% of respondents use memes to determine if they share a sense of humor with their match, while 60% prioritize understanding their match's "meme humor" before going on a date. Additionally, 93% believe that memes reveal a potential partner's sense of humor, which is considered an important factor in relationships by 92% of daters.
Bumble Updates Spotify Feature to Encourage Musical Compatibility
Bumble Launches Mental Health and Self-care Badges
Bumble Says UK Cyber Flashing Bill Isn’t Enough
MASHABLE – Bumble, along with UN Women UK, TV personality Amy Hart, and the magazine Grazia, are calling for a change in the UK's proposed Online Safety Bill (OSB). The current legislation concerning cyber flashing, or sending unsolicited nude images without consent, is based on whether the sender had harmful intent. This is difficult to validate and prove, Bumble and supporters say, and would give room for those who cyber flash to claim it was a "joke." Instead, Bumble's campaigning for the cyber flashing portion of OSB to be consent-based. Almost half (48%) of UK adults aged 18-24 have received a sexual photo they didn't ask for, according to a 2021 survey of 1,800 respondents in England and Wales.
Why Age-verification Bills Won’t Work
MASHABLE – Recently, age-verification bills for porn sites have been making headlines, but experts argue that they won't work and may even harm online privacy and free speech. Instead, they suggest better ways to protect children online. Age-verification bills, such as Louisiana's Act 440 and Utah's SB 287, require visitors to sites with a significant portion of adult content to prove their age using a commercial age-verification system (AVS). Utah has also passed two other bills, SB 152 and HB 311, which require age verification for all users on social media sites; parental permission to access social media for those under 18; and social media curfews for under-18s. These are supposed to go into effect in March 2024, but social media platforms are expected to challenge these laws beforehand. Despite good intentions, these bills have numerous issues:
- Difficult to enforce: Websites based in other countries may not comply, and users can easily bypass restrictions with VPNs.
- Privacy risks: Intrusive and ineffective AVSs may expose people's private information and browsing habits.
- Domino effect: If multiple states adopt different verification methods, it could lead to a complex and restrictive system affecting everyone online.
These bills could also negatively impact adult content creators, who already face censorship and loss of income due to similar legislation like FOSTA-SESTA. Instead of relying on age-verification bills, experts recommend parents take a more proactive approach to protect children from adult content.
Tinder Backs UK Government Campaign to Fight Loneliness
Tinder Users Are Using ChatGPT to Message Matches
MASHABLE – Once they match with someone, Tinder users ask ChatGPT for an opening message based on their interests. Then they copy and paste the output and send it to their match. One "Tinder veteran" used ChatGPT to generate a poem for his match. She loved it, saying a guy hadn't written a poem for her before. With using an AI bot on Tinder, there are potential ethical concerns at play here; the dominant from these examples is disclosure. How would a match feel if they knew the messages were AI-generated?
Tinder Users Say ‘Situationship’ Is a Valid Relationship Status
MASHABLE - In an in-app survey among Tinder users aged 18-24 in the UK, U.S., and Australia last month, 1 in 10 respondents said they prefer situationships as "a way to develop a relationship with less pressure." The app saw a 49% jump in members adding "situationship" to their profiles from January to October this year.