·         60% users seek emotional attachment in a relationship

·         83% prefer meeting the prospective partners in person rather than dating virtually

·         58% consider the meeting to be the decisive element for committing to their partner and the relationship

Before the pandemic, dating was a hybrid concept wherein both physical and online methods were used for searching the love interests. However, the pandemic’s occurrence brought about a shift in the dating space, and users were hooked onto the dating apps for finding the love of their life.

This trend continued growing owing to the on-going CIVID-19 associated risk and hence daters preferred swiping left and swiping right from their mobile screens in the comfort zone of their homes rather than dressing up and stepping out.

However, with the changing times, the dating scenario has also witnessed major shifts. QuackQuack, India’s leading dating platform highlights the same via its report and states that various old-fashioned trends are making a comeback in the dating community and there are various notable changes in the behavior and ideology of men and women daters.

Key highlights of the report

·         No more casual connections– Majority of the users (60%) seek emotional attachment whereas 40% look for physical connection. While 73% females find an emotional connection with their partner to be important, 55% men give preference to emotional attachment whereas 45% males are inclined towards physical intimacy. The women daters crave all the more for emotional attachment as compared to male daters. Urban areas (63%) daters give preference to emotional attachment whereas more than 40% users from small cities and towns are upfront about their priority for physical connection

·         Meeting in person critical to developing genuine connections– Majority of the users (80%) look forward to meeting their partners in-person to develop genuine connections. 72% daters comprising of the users between 21-30 age group prefer the same. On the contrary, 46% of the young generation below 20 years age group, are fine with virtual dating. 78% men and 60% women users choose meeting in person over virtual dating. 73% users from both metropolitan cities and towns no longer worry about the pandemic and express their desire to meet their date in person and only 27% keep virtual dating as an option

·         Old-school physical meeting essential before committing– Majority (58%) of users in the 18-30 age category are of the opinion that virtual date is not sufficient and that they look forward to having a physical date to meet their partner. A startling 61 percentage of both men and women daters desire to meet their date before taking the big step. However, out of these, 39% daters are flexible and can consider virtual dates to be the decisive factor for the relationship as well. Despite living a modern lifestyle, 61% of people from metros and top cities prefer the old fashioned way of physically meeting before committing to their partner for a relationship

• Finding the partner putting an end to app usage-Majority of the daters (70%), continue using the app despite finding the partner and want to keep their options open whereas only 30% delete the app. 73% of male users and 54% of female users continue using the dating app. Men daters openly express that it is highly unlikely of them discontinuing the usage of the app. On the other hand, 46% women daters delete the dating app once they have found a partner. Despite possessing modern values, 64% users in metro cities delete the dating once their partner search comes to end whereas 70% of users from small cities continue using the app

Expressing his views on this change in the dating scenario Mr. Ravi Mittal, Founder & CEO of QuackQuack, said, ‘’ While the online medium altered the working of the dating community, I am glad to share that the old school trends are making a comeback and users prefer meeting in person before committing themselves into the relationship. Additionally, the metropolitan cities despite leading a modern lifestyle, give preference to emotional attachment and meeting their date physically rather than dating virtually. All in all, I am glad that the dating apps are fulfilling their purpose and we hope all the daters eventually find their ‘someone special’ soon.’’

On the whole, the report suggests that the dating ballgame is ever-evolving and is witnessing major changes with many old school trends making a comeback. Physical dates are given preference despite the pandemic situation and are the deciding factor for the daters for committing to their partners. In the present fast-paced life, users crave emotional attachment while physical intimacy is secondary for them. This shows that no matter what the situation is, love is and will continue to blossom!