https://www.alainguillot.com/dating-apps/
After my divorce, I decided to give dating apps a try. I went on a few dates and, although I met some wonderful women, I found the whole process exhausting and extremely inefficient. For me, the juice wasn’t worth the squeeze. I spent hours scrolling, sending hundreds of messages, dealing with ghosting, waiting hours or even days for responses, and finally, when I met a woman in person, I often realized we weren’t a good match.
Success Stories Amid the Struggles
However, as a dance teacher, I’ve met many couples who met through dating apps. Good for them—many seem happy, and some even got married.
But I believe that most people feel frustrated, as I did, and they are deleting the apps from their phones and computers, or at the very least, they don’t want to pay for the service.
Investors Take Note: They are not seeing the growth
From an investor’s point of view, this is worrisome. Revenues are not growing any more, if people don’t want to pay, then what’s the point of owning the stock. And this lack of paying members growth is being reflected in the stock prices.
As we can see, while the S&P 500 has risen by 33% over the past 12 months, dating stocks are lagging behind.
Match Group, which is the largest and most established player, has a portfolio of over 20 brands. Each brand is targeted towards specific types of online dating or to certain demographic groups (i.e. Tinder for short-term hook-ups, Hinge for long-term relationships, etc.)
is up only 1%.
Bumble, known for its female-first approach, is down 54%.
Grindr, which focuses mostly on gay and bisexual men hooking up, is up 100%.
So, what’s happening here?
The Reality for Men on Dating Apps
What I hear is that if you’re a good-looking man, you have all the options. Most women will want to date you. If you’re in the top 10% of attractive men, you could essentially have your pick. 50% of the women are liking your profile.
If you’re in the top 50%, you have a decent chance of finding a partner. If you’re in the bottom 50%, you’re likely to struggle and may end up alone.
Why Bumble’s Approach May Be Struggling
I suspect Bumble is not succeeding because, despite the emphasis on female empowerment, many women still prefer to be approached rather than to make the first move. Historically, men have always been the ones to initiate, and they’ve learned to handle rejection. For women, this is a relatively new shift, and many are still adjusting to the idea of occasional rejection.
User Fatigue and Conflicts of Interest
In general, except for Grindr, people aren’t finding what they’re looking for, and many users are dissatisfied. According to various industry sources, the number of daily app users is just not growing.
There’s also an inherent conflict of interest between dating apps and their users. Clients want to find love and leave the app, but the apps profit when you don’t find a match, and they keep you as a paying customer for as long as possible.
Gen Z and the Future of Dating
Demographic studies show that generation Z (those aged 12 to 27) is showing less interest in traditional dating compared to previous generations. They are prioritizing mental health, personal goals, and self-development.
From an economic perspective, the cost of housing is also a serious issue. It’s hard to date someone when you’re living in your parents’ basement or juggling two jobs. Many young people finish their regular day job only to start driving for Uber or work another side hustle just to pay the rent. These challenges make dating less of a priority.
Generation Z is supposed to represent the future of dating, but through dating apps some social norms are changing. Many young men are feeling disengaged or left out, with women under 30 often dating men over 30. Around 64% of men under 30 are single. On the other end of the spectrum, older women are also having difficulty finding partners, with 70% of women over 60 being single. Clearly, there
