For over a decade, online dating has redefined the world of dating. A harsh and recurring criticism of dating apps is the superficiality with which potential partners are selected. For a long time, the focus was on the look, because the principle of most dating apps is to match someone by primarily looking at the stranger’s pictures.
But over the last ten years, user behavior has apparently changed. In May 2023, the online dating app Bumble launched a survey of over 1000 people. The question: Which characteristics make a potential partner more attractive when dating. The result was astonishing, because the survey also revealed that the criteria have changed, especially in the last five years. Two-thirds of all those surveyed stated that in recent years they have redefined what is important to them when it comes to dating. At the forefront was not the appearance of the new acquaintance, but the friendliness. 85 percent decided that this point was the most important.
Apparently, the users of dating apps are increasingly concerned with the inner values. The shift in values is said to have come about primarily through past experiences in relationships. When it comes to friendliness, however, it is not primarily about a nice tone and nice words, but much more about the following character traits: honesty, empathy, emotional openness, compliments, confirmation and willingness to compromise.
Serious compliments are particularly popular when it comes to online dating. Two-thirds of respondents said they find compliments to be one of the nicest gestures a person can make. Reason enough that Bumble introduced a new feature. Even before a match, it is now possible to compliment the stranger – who knows, maybe the nice words even increase the chance of a match with your dream partner.
What: Bumble
