Dating apps reinvent themselves to match Generation Z

Between “matches” and “ghostings”, there are already young people who are showing tiredness with dating apps. According to a Forbes Health survey, 79% of Generation Z (born between 1997 and 2012) report emotional fatigue caused by using these apps.

To reverse this scenario, already consolidated platforms began to adopt strategies to win back this audience, while new competitors are betting on alternative proposals to try to reinvent online meetings — and take them to the real world.

Tinder, for example, improved the Music Mode, which seeks to encourage connections through musical taste, and announced the Astrology Mode, whose idea is to promote “matches” based on what the stars indicate. The platform also plans to encourage “real-life” meetings, with a tool to discover events and connect people offline, currently being tested in Los Angeles, USA.

“Today, more than 60% of the application’s base is under 30 years old, which reinforces our attentive look at the needs and expectations of this generation. We are building Tinder with Generation Z, and not just for them. Double Date Mode is a good example in this sense”, said the platform in a note, adding that almost 85% of Double Date users, of matches between couples, are under 30 years old.

639APP eliminates the initial profile photo, limits simultaneous interactions and cross-references astrological data to identify affinities. It currently has 71,077 users, 98.7% of which are Brazilian. One of the strategies is to take the app experience to the in-person environment with the creation of 639COM, which has already been activated at events such as Ensaios da Anitta, Rock the Mountain, Oktoberfest and Sapucaí carnival.

— The 639APP strategy has focused on building belonging and expanding the experience beyond the digital environment — says Yule Mares, COO of the 639Hertz ecosystem.

‘Apps make everything very robotic’

Testimony from data scientist Pedro Lustosa, 25 years old:

“I started using (relationship apps) right after I finished school, with the aim of meeting new people, but without the intention of finding a partner for life. I feel that, within these apps, people already go with the intention of hooking up once, having someone just to have a relationship with when they feel like it. I’ve met nice people, but whether I want to or not, it’s a “shot in the dark”, I can’t know. I just think that, nowadays, at the moment I’m in, it doesn’t make much sense to keep seeing these people on the app waiting that something works. Really, the apps make everything very robotic, always the same step by step every time.

For Flávio Bizzarias, professor at ESPM, Generation Z lives a paradox between excessive digital stimuli, which can generate stress, and high familiarity with technology. According to him, although dating apps have innovated by offering many options, this is no longer enough for this audience.

— Apps continue to expand possibilities, allowing you to move between different types of relationships, from casual to serious, but expectations are growing for more balanced, authentic and meaningful experiences — he explains.

In this context, Sibele de Aquino, PhD in Psychology, researcher in Positive Psychology and professor at Mackenzie Rio, says that “mechanics such as the ‘infinite swipe’ (the act of sliding profiles on the screen continuously) and the excess of options started to generate more fatigue than engagement”.

As a result, platforms emerge with different proposals. Hinge, for example, is a dating app made to be deleted, according to Jackie Jantos, CEO of the platform. In the app, instead of liking or rejecting an entire profile, users interact with specific parts. After the match, the application limits the number of unanswered conversations to encourage progress in relation to in-person meetings.

— Our belief is: when people interact with intention, they are more likely to meet someone they want to meet and eventually, they will no longer need the app. This is our success — says Jantos.

Genuine connections matter

A survey by Bumble, an app where only women initiate conversations, indicates that 62% of Generation Z users have returned to using dating apps. According to the platform, however, there is a change: the group seeks more genuine connections with more intention.

“We focus on improving the experience based on what our community tells us they want and need,” the company said in a statement.

Manoel Villas Boas Júnior, coordinator of the Data Science course at Mackenzie Rio, assesses that platforms are being pressured to become less solitary and more social:

— Digital dating ceases to be a completely individual journey and begins to incorporate social validation, risk reduction and group support.

happn, an app that connects people who have already crossed paths in real life, launched a feature that suggests meeting points according to interests and local context, in addition to investing in offline partnerships to encourage people to get to know each other naturally:

— In Rio, we partnered with the Marun running club, earlier this year, to hold a 5K “Singles Race” in Botafogo. And we also partnered with popular restaurants in the region to offer exclusive benefits to our users — says Karima Ben Abdelmalek, CEO and president of happn.