[ad_1]
I just got rid of the long-term blockade. Can we become friends?
Passionate entanglement is not the biggest concern for many people who have emerged from a long-term pandemic isolation. On the contrary, they yearn for the friendship and social group they have longed for in the past year.
This is the conclusion of dating apps like Tinder and Bumble, which are launching or acquiring new services that are entirely focused on making and maintaining friends.
Bumble founder and CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd (Whitney Wolfe Herd) said: “A very interesting trend has emerged in the field of connectivity, and that is the desire for platonic relationships.”
“People are seeking friendship in ways that could only be offline before the pandemic.”
Her company is investing in its Bumble BFF (Best Friend forever) feature, which reportedly accounted for about 9% of Bumble’s total monthly active users in September 2020, and “as we focus on this area Increase, there is room for growth”.
At the same time, its main competitor, Match Group — the owner of a series of apps including Tinder and Hinge — is also going beyond love and desire. This year it spent US$1.7 billion to acquire Hyperconnect, a South Korean social media company, whose app allows people to use real-time translation to chat with people from all over the world.
Hyperconnect’s revenue increased by 50% last year, and Meetup can help you meet like-minded people at local or online events. Since January, the number of new members has increased by 22%.
The most searched word for Meetup this year is “friends.”
‘Look for companionship and connection’
Evercore analyst Shweta Kharjuria said that since the COVID-19 restrictions were gradually lifted globally, the user engagement of these friendship services has increased, allowing people to meet in person. He said that attracting more customers has a reasonable business sense.
“This opens up the entire available market, from just for singles to singles and married people,” she said.
The importance of physical contact was echoed by Amos, a 22-year-old French nanny who uses Bumble BFF in London.
“It’s hard to get motivation online, if IRL (in real life) everything is shut down,” he said. “Unless you meet in person, you will never really make a connection.”
Rosie, a 24-year-old dental nurse who lives in Bristol, southwest England, tried to establish contact with older colleagues during the lockdown and started using Bumble BFF to meet new people three weeks ago.
“I’m a very sociable person and like to meet new people, but never found opportunities. I have been buzzing from texting me by Vodafone to this app, which is good, it seems that many girls are in my Location,” she said.
Nupur, a 25-year-old teacher from the city of Pune in western India who uses Tinder and Bumble at the same time, said that these apps work hard to promote themselves as a way to find friends, not just hook-ups and love “may be effective “. Excellent”.
“I have met a few people on the Internet. We have known each other for more than a year, and we are already friends.”
In fact, according to market research firm Apptopia, dating networks such as MeetMe and Yubo have even surpassed some popular dating apps in daily interactions in the past few months.
Online dating expert and former sociologist at Tinder and Bumble, Jesse Kabbino, told Reuters that social isolation has been “shocking” due to the pandemic, especially for singles living alone.
“(This) inspires people to use the tools available to them, namely technology, to find friendships and connections.”
‘The trend is here’
According to the brokerage company Canaccord Genuity, LGBTQ+ dating apps have done a lot to promote the social aspect of dating. For example, China’s Blued provides surrogacy services and Taimi provides live broadcasts.
At the same time, the gay dating app Hornet aims to become a social network that focuses more on users’ personal interests, rather than just a contact service centered on appearance and proximity.
Christof Wittig, founder and CEO of Hornet, said that people are unlikely to return to the “old way” of connecting with the community completely offline, such as through nightlife, activism, or LGBTQ sports events.
Witting said that in the year ending in May, the number of users who clicked on news sources, comments, and videos increased by 37%.
He said that during the lockdown, when bars, gyms and pride events were closed, people turned to digital platforms to gain a sense of belonging, and the number of people looking for friendship and community online increased.
“These trends will continue,” he added. “It’s like video conferencing and telecommuting.”
[ad_2]
Source link
