Dating trends for the New Year.
Illustrations: Uttam Ghosh/Rediff.com
Strawberries sensually draped in chocolate.
Love-drenched moonlit skies.
Whispered sweet nothings.
Romantic candlelight dinners.
Stolen kisses.
Sexy...
Hold it right there!
That's not all that romance is these days.
For COVID has, among other things, changed the way we look at love. And what we expect from those we want to get romantic with.
*A recent Bumble survey reveals the latest variant of love, and the new kinds of lovers.
First, there are the Resetters.
As pandemic restrictions became the kebab mein haddi between those who wanted to date, the romantic at heart found a way out.
Video chats and virtual dates became Love's new playground.
The Bumble survey revealed that, in the coming year, 71 per of users on Bumble in India are ready to hit the reset button on their dating journey.
Seventy-five per cent of the respondents want to prioritise finding a partner who is more emotionally available.
For more than half (52 per cent), the pandemic has drastically changed what they are looking for in a partner.
Then, there is Explori-dating.
What the romantic at heart are looking for has changed.
In fact, say almost half of the people (48 per cent) surveyed, the pandemic has made them what their 'type' even is.
And more than half of daters (55 per cent) on Bumble in India say they would describe their approach towards dating as exploratory.
Heard about Hobby Dates?
Getting back into the dating game as India slowly opens up is not easy.
But here's a cool way to dip your toe in.
When you connect over shared interests, the awkwardness disappears and the ice breaks easily.
From cooking together to pottery classes to their own business, 75 per cent of Indian daters on Bumble have picked up new hobbies and skills.
Find out whose interests match yours.
In fact, 52 per cent of the people on Bumble in India are planning their dates around their new hobbies.
Are you Consciously Single?
We've all heard of 'conscious uncoupling', but 2022 is all about finding the right 'someone'.
If the pandemic has taught us something, it is that it's okay to be alone for a while. That what 62 per cent of the people surveyed think.
Looking ahead, people are consciously making the decision to be single, with a majority of single people (54 per cent) saying they are being more mindful and intentional in how and when they date.
Time to display that Power PDA
With vaccination rates increasing, PDA is back in a big way. And it's not just the celeb way of wearing their hearts on their sleeves.
Seventy-three of the single Indians on Bumble say that they are more open to public displays of affection in the New Year.
*The research for the survey was conducted by Bumble, the women-first dating app, using internal data and polling between October 6-21, 2021, with a sample of more than 8,500 Bumble users across Australia, Canada, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Philippines, the United Kingdom and the United States.
