Next week is the day, Valentine’s Day: the day to celebrate love. Due to corona, many people have started digitizing activities in their lives. You have telecommuting, but also online dating. Research shows that the use of dating apps has increased during the lockdown and that more people have downloaded dating apps.
Why are dating apps used?
An investigation by Kaspersky shows how dating apps are used, what possible threats are and what you as a user can do to protect yourself against those threats. Four in five Dutch people indicate that they have used a dating app in the past or are currently using one. The majority of these choose these apps because they are looking for a long-term relationship (41%). No less than 40% use the apps to get to know new people and 27% because they are looking for sexual contact.
So most people are looking for a long-term relationship, but only 35% manage to find it through a dating app. 68% manage to get to know new people and 69% to find sexual contact.
Scam
Of course, not everyone is digitally dating. The survey states that 15 percent of Dutch people have never used a dating app. Half give the reason that they prefer to meet people in real life. However, another large share (29%) say they don’t trust people on dating apps and 27% are afraid of being scammed.
The latter is a common problem on dating apps. People pretend to be someone else, use old photos or even ask for money. Just under half of dating app users said they often encounter fake profiles and 45 percent were contacted by a scammer or were even scammed.
Satisfaction
However, scams are not the only thing users are unhappy about. Trust in the algorithms is not very high. More than half think the algorithm suggests good matches, but only 41% believe that an AI can really find them a perfect match. Remarkably, a quarter of users indicate that they have had or would consider a relationship with an AI.
Although there are problems with dating apps, many rate the apps positively. Just over half of users think the apps have made dating easier, and the same percentage say they enjoy using dating apps.
Future
Future anthropologist Dr. Roanne van Voorst sees a rosy view of the dating world this summer. “When I did research during the lockdowns, I noticed that dating apps became very important, especially for many young people. With cafes and gyms closed, apps were the only way to get to know others. Chatting with each other is quite different from seeing each other. You can’t really judge whether you really find someone attractive. Even when calling, our intuition works less well than during a real meeting, where you can hear, see and feel each other.”
She also says that the bad weather in recent months has made it difficult to meet someone you met on a dating app outdoors. “Women in particular found it unsafe to meet at home on a first date. Fortunately, summer is coming and it seems that the restaurants and bars are opening. My advice for all love seekers: use the dating app for a first orientation, but speak especially quickly in real life if you think you have a click with someone, then you immediately notice whether that is correct or whether it was just a digital fling.” she adds.
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– Thanks for information from Androidworld. Source