With 2020 upending just about every aspect of our lives, new and unexpected dating trends have emerged. A dating app reveals that people are feeling a strong desire to build trust online before taking their relationship offline

This year has upended our lives in unexpected ways. Bumble’s most recent data reveals that over 40 per cent of daters in India share they are no longer confident that they know how to date successfully. And 70 per cent of singles say that they are not comfortable navigating dating in 2020, while one in two claim they are ready to go on a date in-person. Throughout this turbulent year, meaningful online connections reigned supreme globally, albeit in new and different ways. In 2020, we’ve seen an increased need for social connections since March when the lockdown and social distancing restrictions began in the country, evidenced by the fact that over 540 million messages have been sent on the dating app.

TRENDING TOPIC

The most popular topic of conversation in 2020 was ‘working from home’ as 57 per cent of daters discussed this as their new normal.

MAKING THE FIRST MOVE

People are diving right in to make the first move with their profile prompts. The most popular prompt used in India this year was: Beach or mountains... Other top popular prompts were: Nightclub or Netflix... After work you can find me... Favourite quality in a person...

EMOJIS OF CHOICE

An emoji says a thousand words. The heart wants what it wants! The most used emoji on profiles was the classic red heart. This goes to show that even during a pandemic, single people looked to find meaningful connections.

WHEN THE STARS ALIGN

Zodiac signs continue to be a hot topic among the users of the dating app. So which of the signs were most likely to find love this year? It was Leo. They had the most matches of any star sign, followed by Scorpio and Libra.

PHOTO MUST HAVES

The more photos you have, the more chances you’ll match. Two in three (63 per cent) of the users uploaded photos of them in their everyday lives on their profiles, while selfies (62 per cent) took the second spot.

THE ERA OF SLOW DATING

More than ever, people are feeling a strong desire to build trust online before taking the relationship offline, leading to more virtual communication. More than 40 per cent of the users are slowing down the ‘get to know you phase.’ Women are now more likely to focus on the qualities in a partner, ultimately putting less pressure on themselves in dating.

People are having more quality conversations online, known as “pre-dates”, averaging roughly 20 minutes.

THE RISE OF NEW DAWN DATERS

One in two, over 46 per cent of people are likely to be the “new dawn daters.” The biggest driver of breakups was the inability to see a partner (46.45 per cent). One in three people (29 per cent) also said that the pandemic has precipitated existing issues.

THE COVID CONVERSATION

The pandemic and our health and safety concerns have been a trending topic of conversation for single people everywhere. In this new landscape, people are learning to navigate the new rules of dating and are trying new ways to meet others virtually.

As we look ahead to 2021, there’s no doubt the dating landscape will continue to evolve. Here are a few predictions:

• Dating in-person is definitely not off the table with one in two people claiming that they are ready to date in-person.
• People are increasingly open to virtual dating as well with one in five up for using video chats.
• Dating will ramp up in early 2021 as 69 per cent of the users say that they are planning to use dating apps just as much as they do now, if not more through Valentine’s Day 2021.