Dating app burnout seeing major apps partially pivot to friend-finding

The growing phenomenon of dating app burnout is leading major players to do at least a partial pivot into friend-finding, according to a new report …

Dating app burnout

There have been increasing reports that dating apps and online dating isn’t delivering on its promise, with one recent study finding that the ‘paradox of choice’ means people don’t find better matches over organic meets, despite a much larger dating pool.

A recent Forbes survey found that dating apps were also having a negative impact on how people feel about themselves.

In what can feel like an innumerable amount of competition and deception souring the dating landscape, it’s easy to feel lost and even dispensable to other singles […]

Indeed, an overwhelming amount of respondents report feeling worn out from dating apps. When asked how often they felt emotionally, mentally or physically exhausted by dating apps, a total of 78% experienced this feeling sometimes, often or always […]

“People who experience burnout with dating apps are exhausted from constantly meeting new people, failing opportunities and lies,” says Dr. Spann. “Over time, the unfortunate misgivings of being on a dating app can cause someone to lose hope in the dating process and finding the right person.”

Major apps pivoting to friend-finding

The Financial Times reports that major players in the field – including Bumble and Match Group – are now turning to friend-finding as a way to reinvigorate interest.

Jones said Bumble would focus this autumn on “scaling the growth of Geneva and BFF” in order to “over time diversify our business monetisation model”. 

Match’s newest app Yuzu, launched in February, is also its first product to explicitly offer a social-only mode as well as a dating function […]

“This is a testing ground for us,” Match’s chief financial officer Gary Swidler said at an investor conference this month. “You can draw the line, I think, from things we’re testing in emerging brands, including Yuzu, and what we might be thinking down the road at Tinder.”

Analysts say consumers are far less likely to be willing to pay money for friend-finding, but free friend matching might be a way to keep people engaged with an app, so that they are more likely to turn to it when they are seeking a romantic partner.

Photo by Nik on Unsplash