The Four Dating Trends Predicted for 2022 – YOU Magazine

Article By YOU Magazine

~ JANUARY 2022 ~

Dating over the past couple of years hasn’t exactly been easy. Social distancing, hand sanitiser and the constant threat of catching a potentially fatal disease from a stranger doesn’t exactly make a recipe for romance.

Dates transformed from fun activities and drinks, to walks in the park, virtual ‘Netflix and chill’ sessions and weeks of conversation with someone without ever laying eyes on them in real life.

Dating apps were already a leading way to find love pre-pandemic, but during the multiple lockdowns and restrictions, meeting someone through a friend or organically became almost impossible. It’s safe to say, our attitude towards dating has changed – and now there are new trends that might stick for good.

To help us singletons out, dating app Hinge has reviewed its data and predicted four key dating trends for next year…

More openness around mental health

Being open about mental health is something that users are looking for, according to Hinge, which isn’t surprising considering the stress we’ve been under (thanks, Covid). The app reported 83 per cent of UK users would prefer to date someone who goes to therapy. You’re also more likely to go for a second date if you mention therapy on the first one. However, only 9 per cent of UK Hinge users feel comfortable to bring up the topic.

The rise of voice notes

The app recently introduced voice notes as a method of sharing facts about yourself, or responding to prompts as conversation starters. In turn, Hinge predicts more people will embrace the feature and want to hear someone’s voice before ‘matching’ with them, with people two times more likely to match someone if they like their voice prompt. In fact, 64 per cent of users said voice was an important factor to gauge if they liked someone.

Image: Alamy

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#Vaccinated

Something that never happened on dating apps pre-pandemic was users sharing their medical history so openly. Although, as we know, the world is very different now. Hinge has a feature on its app where users can share their Covid vaccination status on their profile. Research shows that those who display they are vaccinated get 30 per cent more matches.

Upfront goals

Goodbye ‘situationships’, no one’s got time for you anymore. The term is used for a situation when you’re not fully committed to each other, but the relationship is something deeper and longer than just a fling. One in three Hinge users had a situationship in the past year, with 62 per cent of them feeling disappointed by it. So, the app predicts more people will be upfront with what they want from the app and dating – a great way to cut through the time-wasters.