The pandemic has made us realise that it's OK to be alone for a while.
With Valentine's Day around the corner, Bumble, the women-first dating app, has released a list of trends that will help define dating in 2022.
While this year has brought the return of some much-loved pre-pandemic behaviour, the future of dating holds many new and welcomed shifts.
Based on a survey conducted among Bumble users in India, here are some interesting trends and findings about new age dating in India:
1. The age of resetters
The pandemic brought a lot of changes for daters, but many adjusted along the way by adopting video chat and planning virtual dates.
71% of people are ready to hit the reset button on their dating journey this year.
75% daters feel the pandemic has made them prioritise finding a partner who is more emotionally available.
More than half users (52%) feel the pandemic has drastically changed what they are looking for in a partner.
2. Explori-dating
While what we are looking for has changed this hasn't necessarily made dating super serious.
In fact, the pandemic has made almost half of the people (48%) question what our 'type' even is.
Looking ahead at 2022, more than half of daters would describe their approach to dating as exploratory (55%).
3. Hobby dates
From cooking together to pottery classes to starting your own business, 75% of Indian daters have picked up new hobbies and skills.
And now it's also present in our dating lives as 52% are planning their dates around their new hobbies.
This is an easy way to get back into dating post-lockdown by doing something you already love and it's a great way to connect over shared interests!
4. Consciously single
We've all heard of 'conscious uncoupling'. But 2022 is all about finding that someone, not just anyone.
The pandemic has made more than half of us (62%) realise that it's actually OK to be alone for a while.
Looking ahead, people are consciously making a decision to be single, with the majority of single people (54%) being more mindful and intentional in how and when they date.
5. Power PDA
With vaccination rates increasing, PDA is back in a big way and it looks like it's not just the celebrities that are into it.
73% of single Indians said they were more open to public displays of affection post-pandemic.
