ByIANSlife

November 25, 2021 (IANSlife) Bumble, the women-first dating app, has released its predictions for the top emerging trends that will shape dating in the coming year. While some much-loved pre-pandemic behaviour has returned this year, the future of dating holds many new and welcome changes.

According to Bumble, the new year will bring us:

• 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 percent of people on the dating platform in India are ready to hit the reset button on their dating journey in the new year. For 75 percent of people, the pandemic has made them now prioritise finding a partner who is more emotionally available. For more than half of (52 percent) people on Bumble the pandemic has drastically changed what they are looking for in a partner. 
• Explori-dating: While what we’re looking for has changed but this hasn’t necessarily made dating super serious. In fact, the pandemic has made almost half of the people (48 percent) question what our ‘type’ even is. Looking ahead to 2022, more than half of daters in India would describe their approach to dating as exploratory (55 percent).
• Hobby Dates: From cooking together to pottery classes to starting your own business - 75 percent of Indian daters on Bumble have picked up new hobbies and skills. And now it’s also present in our dating lives as 52 percent of people on the platform in India 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!
• 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 percent ) 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 percent ) being more mindful and intentional in how and when they date.
• 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 percent of single Indians on Bumble say that they are more open to public displays of affection post-pandemic.
   

Samarpita Samaddar, India Communications Director, Bumble said: “If the last two years have taught us anything, it’s that people are being more mindful of what they are looking for in a partner and more intentional about dating at their own time and pace. As we head into the new year, there is a sense of hope and excitement around dating, both virtual and IRL, as India lifts restrictions across states. With over 70 percentof single Indians looking to ‘reset’ their dating lives, 2022 looks likely to be a big year for romance.”

(Research was conducted by Bumble 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, United Kingdom, and United States.)

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