How is the behavior of online dating app users changing?

Every year more and more people first get to know each other on the internet, that’s the reality of the ongoing digitalization of society. The average person finds it much more comfortable and easier to get to know someone online than in real life. But most importantly, such encounters often turn out to be very, very promising.

Of course, online dating is not a new phenomenon. It has been around for almost as long as the internet itself. After all, in 1995 Match.com, the first modern style dating site was already online. But does that mean that online dating hasn’t changed since then? Of course not! Indeed, recently it has undergone a lot of fundamental changes that have taken it to a whole new level.

Today we want to take a closer look at how online dating has changed and in particular the behavior of users of such sites. We promise we’ll reveal many interesting and unexpected facts!

Love no longer comes as a surprise

Let’s go back a couple of decades for a moment, to when the average person’s idea of ideal love was based mainly on Hollywood films and romance novels. At that time, there was a belief that love must be something spontaneous, something that happens at a certain moment by itself with little or no human intervention. Remember the romantic movies of the early 2000s. The protagonist lives their own life, then suddenly meets the one they have been dreaming about for so long.

In reality, everything is much more complicated. Love does not literally appear out of nowhere, with extremely rare exceptions. In the era of online dating, finding your soulmate requires effort, dedication and willingness to work hard.

Another curious observation was made by doctor of sociology, Marie Bergström. She notes that modern people have gradually begun to move away from the opinion that love is blind. That a conventional princess can fall in love with a conventional rogue, like in some fairy tale or trashy love story. This just doesn’t work today, especially in online dating! After all, you will always have certain criteria that your potential soulmate must meet. Gender, age, location, interests and hobbies, pets, dietary preferences — sometimes every little thing is important. So what kind of blind love can there even be in the modern world, when each of us has such a huge list of requirements for a potential partner?

All this in one way or another makes people act, not just sit and wait. They will actively plan their personal lives, meet new people, objectively evaluate them and make informed decisions about starting a romantic relationship. This is the right approach.

Dating in the 21st century is becoming more private

This is a particularly interesting point. Until quite recently, people got to know each other mainly through mutual friends, work colleagues or even relatives. But this approach has one important disadvantage — it’s hard not to feel like you’re under surveillance. Those same friends, colleagues and relatives are watching them, are interested in how they build their personal life, and generously bestow advice, which often turns out to be misplaced.

Not surprisingly, this approach is not to everyone’s liking. People are increasingly going online to meet new people away from prying eyes. Especially from the eyes of close friends and relatives. For the modern person, a first acquaintance is something very personal, even intimate. And few people want someone to overshadow this moment with their presence and “expert” advice. This is one of the main reasons why we all go online so actively.

Online dating is changing faster than most people realize

Again we return to the past, but a more recent one. To be more precise, 2012, when the dating app Tinder was launched. Tinder wasn’t the first of its kind, but it revolutionized the way dating happened, making it faster and more fun. The developers literally turned the search for a soulmate into a game using “like” and “dislike” swipes. And given that the application selects potential partners based on location, Tinder made it possible to get acquainted and transfer communication offline very quickly. Attractions were mutual — a match was formed — the users talked and agreed to meet — then went on a first date. Often, all these stages took a matter of hours.

However, a lot has changed now. There is no haste. On the contrary, so-called “slow dating” has become a new trend. The essence of slow dating is to reduce the amount of communication with multiple people, as well as to extend online dialogue before a real meeting. Modern users are well aware that the better you get to know a person before the first meeting, the higher the chances that this encounter will be successful, and will lead to more positive interactions. There’s simply no point in rushing things.

Besides that, many people now partially or even completely refuse to text message. This is because messaging has very little ability to make it clear what kind of person you are communicating with, and establish how much you really like them and whether your relationship has a future. Therefore, popular dating applications are now actively introducing video chat functions to enable users to see each other.

For those who, due to whatever reason, the classic web dating format is not suitable, there’s a great alternative — chat roulette.

Chatroulette means a website or application whose main function is to connect random users via video. This is done in literally one click. And also in just one click you can switch to the next user if your current conversation isn’t catching fire. This is a very convenient format for online dating, which immediately allows you to chat face-to-face and see the other person right in front of you. Like a first date, only online.

Here are just some of the more popular random web chat roulettes:

• Chatroulette — the first chat roulette in history with video chat, which has been operating since 2009. The site is quite simple and has only a basic set of functions, and moderation was extremely mediocre until 2020. But now the situation has improved and Chatroulette is gradually regaining its former popularity.
• CooMeet — a real find for men who want to communicate only with girls. This web chatrullete helps users get acquainted exclusively with the opposite gender. All girls must verify their identity. No fakes or bots. Plus convenient applications for smartphones and a built-in message translator.
• Bazoocam — a simple and minimalist video chat roulette with a rather basic set of features. One of the more interesting is a built-in video streaming service, where you can watch other people’s broadcasts or start your own stream.
• Chatspin — a free chat roulette with gender filter. You can choose not only the options “Man” or “Woman”, but also “Couple” or “LGBTQ+”. Very useful for those who are looking for truly non-standard dating.
• Hippo — a web chat roulette that operates in more than 190 countries. The service has a convenient mobile application, but, as users note, there are a lot of bots. Because of this the experience can be spoiled, so its developers should definitely work on moderation.

You can choose any platform you like. Or you can consider other options we have not mentioned. There are a lot of chat roulettes. Some of them have completely unique features that you will definitely love, so give them a try!

Online dating is changing constantly

There have been a lot of changes in the world of online dating in recent years. And many more will happen in the future, there’s no doubt about it. We are convinced that any changes in this area are for the better.

Already today we see that people have begun to approach the search for a soulmate on the web more meaningfully and seriously. There’s no more rushing to a first date, or desire to make as many new acquaintances as possible. Instead, quantity has been replaced by quality. This, in our opinion, is one of the most positive web dating trends of our present time.