Gen Z is abandoning dating apps to find love in more traditional ways
The younger generation are suddenly leaving online dating sites in droves, preferring the traditional way – getting acquainted offline.
Published By: Ademola Adegbamigbe
They say that all trends are cyclical. But that phrase is usually applied only to the world of fashion. Today we’re looking at the cyclical ways people date, in which we can start to see some quite obvious trend shifts.
The fact is that until recently, the trend for dating on the web was gaining momentum extremely rapidly. During the Covid-19 pandemic especially, it soared to almost unimaginable heights. But time passed, the pandemic largely faded away, and the younger generation suddenly began to leave online dating sites in droves, preferring to get acquainted offline.
Today we’ll try to figure out why this is happening, how effective offline dating can be in the modern world, and what those who are not able or keen to get involved with offline dating or classic dating sites and apps can do.
Zoomers leaving dating apps: what alternatives do they choose?
One of the main reasons why the younger generation is actively leaving traditional online dating apps is a general lack of success. Behind high-profile advertising and internet stories about successful dating, sadly, only marketing illusions can be found. Of course, there are exceptions, but in general, fruitful meetings on dating apps are rare. According to a study by the Pew Research Center, only 12% of American adults who used online dating services reported having found a serious relationship through an app or website. Please note that this is not even regarding marriages, merely relationships. The percentage of marriages created is even smaller…
The second important factor is fraud. Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of developers, the number of scammers on dating apps is simply huge. And during the coronavirus pandemic, it only grew further. In a survey of 2,000 Americans by the dating app Hinge, 63% of respondents reported that they had been scammed on a dating app at least once in their lives. This greatly undermines the credibility of web dating in general, and may lead users to abandon online dating altogether.
Finally, the younger generation strives to spend time more actively, interact constantly with others, live more offline — go to parties, communicate with friends, meet new people, and so on.
The problem with this is that dating in the real world is still a bit of a challenge, for many reasons. Some people still fear for their health and try to limit their contact with others. There are also those who wouldn’t date in real life on principle. And let’s not forget about the power of habit. Many have lost the habit of offline dating, and younger people may not have experienced it at all…
Webcam chat: a successful combination of online and offline dating
Random cam chat means a website or app with the primary function of connecting random users via video. So technically we are still talking about online dating, but at the same time, the communication format is as close to face to face communication as possible. You see the other person and hear their voice, you can discuss a variety of topics, and talk heart to heart. Or you can explore other interesting options for spending time together online: watch a movie, play a video game, take a virtual walk around someone else’s city, and much more.
Here are just some of the popular online cam chats that you should definitely try out:
Of course, this is not the whole list of popular cam chats that you can try. In fact, there are many more of them, and almost each offers some unique features. After all, that’s how they attract their audience. If you’re interested in this format of communication, you should easily find the ideal platform for yourself.
Will cam chats be popular among zoomers in the future?
It’s next to impossible to make any concrete forecasts in our rapidly changing world. But trends are cyclical and they do repeat. Webcam chats were extremely popular in the 2010s when they first appeared. Then there was a decline in popularity, largely due to the emergence of numerous dating applications like Tinder. And now we’re seeing things go full circle. However it’s quite possible that in the future everything will revolve once again.
Also, don’t forget about the nature of the zoomer generation. These are active and curious young people who love everything new and technological. So as soon as some non-standard alternative to live cam chats and dating apps appears, they will almost certainly jump on it and actively use it. Perhaps that alternative in the near future might be the metaverses. And perhaps not, because now, after a surge of initial interest in this futuristic format of communication, we’ve started seeing the opposite — now almost no one is talking about the metaverses. Even the company Meta, which led the charge in the past, now seems to be not so sure about its idea.
Therefore, we tend to believe that random cam chats will remain trendy for a long time yet, for several reasons:
- Cam chats make it possible to meet and communicate virtually like in real life.
- Most of the webcam chat apps are either completely free or very inexpensive compared to traditional dating services.
- Cam to cam chats have attracted a huge new audience over the past few years, which set off a kind of chain reaction and attracted even more people to this format.
Ultimately, the younger generation is not that different from older generations in terms of its approach to dating. Internet dating became available to the public almost three decades ago, and since then interest in it has not faded. Of course, offline dating isn’t going anywhere either, but its part in the total number of successful matches is getting smaller every year. This trend is unlikely to change in the foreseeable future.
