Ravi Mittal Founder & CEO QuackQuak, dating App
With the rise of dating apps, the way people are connecting and expanding their social circle has evolved dramatically. The traditional methods like meeting people in community gatherings or at the workplace are turning obsolete with more people choosing to stay indoors and relax on their days off. While it hasn’t disappeared entirely, with the advent of technology, dating apps are equally, if not more, playing a significant role in connecting people. In India, these apps have long transcended their original purpose- matchmaking- and have emerged as a powerful tool for expanding social circles, networking, finding genuine friends, and even for personal growth.
Beyond Love- While dating apps were primarily designed for connecting hearts, people, as they always do, found even more uses for them. Apart from romantic connections, many online dating app users have found them extremely valuable for widening their social network. These platforms not only provide a diverse pool of people from various locations and walks of life but also guarantee a safe and secure environment to connect and interact with them. With the geographical barrier removed, dating apps also offer people friendships and connections that might have been impossible otherwise. Users are now connecting across cities, allowing them to build a more expansive social circle.
Evolution of Socialization
In India, around two or three decades back, social circles were usually restricted to family, friends, and acquaintances from one’s community. But the modern days are different. These dynamics have been reshaped according to the needs of the new generation. There are more avenues of social interaction- dating apps- and they are often more favored over their traditional counterparts. People finally have a forum to meet individuals from various communities and beyond their immediate social circles (without the prying eyes of nosey neighbors).
The Friendship aspect of dating apps- Dating apps are finally recognizing the potential for genuine friendships on the platform and encouraging more people to join, not just for love, but for companionship of any kind. It helps people work around the stigma of using a dating app to find love, and focus on what truly matters- finding like-minded people to connect and build meaningful friendships. People with similar values and outlooks, and shared hobbies and passions can inspire one another and help each other grow.
Networking in a new city
Dating apps are widely used by people to seek friends and build a network in a new place. For instance, many young Indians move to different cities every day for better job opportunities or education; dating apps offer them a convenient mode of finding their tribe even in a new place. They find compatible people on these apps to expand their circle. This is highly preferred by the youth because the effort-to-reward ratio is much more favorable as compared to the old-school ways of meeting people by chance. Friendships and the gateway to a social circle are right at their fingertips.
Personal Growth
A wide social circle of a diverse range of people can lead to significant personal growth. 25% of dating app users reveal that interacting with people from different cities, cultures, and walks of life exposes people to newer perspectives and experiences. Moreover, friendships formed on these online platforms often turn out to be a valuable support system. People have also disclosed that these connections have also extended to professional networking opportunities, with friends exchanging career advice and job referrals.
Safety and authenticity
Around 13% of Tier 1 and 2 daters claim that expanding your social circle through dating apps is far safer than meeting with random people offline. In these apps, there is a scope to do a preliminary background check through a little bit of social media digging, a clever reverse image search, and virtual dates to evaluate their behavior. It gives people an added layer of safety. There is almost nothing left to assumptions; verifying the authenticity of an online match is becoming ever so easier with the advancement of technology, which would not be possible with a chance encounter in real life. Moreover, there isn’t any pressure to continue a relationship if there is even a slight feeling of discomfort, something that would lead to an uncomfortable situation in an “IRL-relationship.”
Dating apps are the future of social interaction and networking. What started exclusively for finding love and relationships has now evolved according to the users’ needs and that is exactly what makes dating apps people’s top pick. They are all about building a safe and inclusive community, and more and more apps are focusing on offering experiences that add to the users’ personal growth.
