Apps like Tinder are changing from dating tools to party places as more people enjoy the single life
2023年1月22日 - 4:00AM
JCN Newswire
"Being consciously single" is not a new term. Over the past few
years, especially during the pandemic, it has become a trend to
enjoy staying single.
According to a study by Bumble, a dating app where women are
dominant, 53% of respondents said that it is "actually OK" to be
partnerless. Instead of searching in dating apps aimlessly, people
are more inclined to live with elegance and confidence before
meeting the right person. Another survey also shows that 83% of
women are content to wait until finding their Mr. Right. In other
words, people are more cautious about dating and building a
relationship.
Despite this, humans' desire for social connection will never wane
for we are social animals, and consequently, this creates a
breakthrough point from which social networking apps can adapt to
users' shifting demands.
Dating apps like Tinder are actively incorporating interactive and
immersive features to attract users to congregate. Beyond such
conventional products, fashionable social apps launched by
companies such as Newborn Town and Hyperconnect, offering various
audio- and video-based features for online-party and friend-making,
have become companions in users' leisure time. Meanwhile, IMVU and
similar social apps, derived from the concept of metaverse, allow
users to interact in virtual scenarios with a virtual avatar and to
join real parties without leaving home.
It can be said that social apps are evolving from a dating tool for
two to a gathering place for all.
1. Tinder starts to "Explore"
In September 2021, Tinder launched "Explore" to diversify social
networking experiences. Explore has been providing multiple
interactive modes and features at the very beginning, including Hot
Takes, Vibes and Swipe Night. Aside from many subsequent innovative
explorations, it has recently introduced a Festival Mode. With
these new features, Tinder becomes more of an entertaining and
companionable app than a simple tool in which users can swipe left
or right. Users can also filter out more accurate interest tags by
these activities and thus meet like-minded intimates.
A few days ago, Tinder released a user trend report for 2022 on its
website, subtitled Dating Games are Dead in 2022 said Young
Singles. As stated in the report, Tinder saw a 49% increase in
members adding the phrase "situationship" to their bios in 2022. In
other words, rather than being a tool for looking for a partner,
Tinder offers a variety of social networking activities for young
people to identify compatible relationships that can progress
naturally without being defined purposively.
Match Group, the parent firm of Tinder, revealed in June 2021 that
it had acquired Hyperconnect successfully, a leading social
discovery and video technology company from Korea. According to
Match Group, they are going to develop their products with
Hyperconnect's expertise in the video industry. It is conceivable
that social apps like Tinder will update more video functions to
broaden interactive experiences for members.
2. New genes of emerging social apps
Unlike traditional dating apps that cater to new trends by function
adjustments, social products emerged recently no longer focus on
date matching, but appear in front of global users with genes of
partying and companionship.
MICO, a live-streaming video social app, has gained popularity in
MENA, Southeast Asia, Japan, South Korea and North America over the
past year or so. This app has a ton of features, including the
ability for users to do or watch live streaming, make video calls
or text chats with their friends or anybody they are into, and even
play mini-games while chatting.
Similar to TikTok, content creators in MICO attract fans with their
talent and charm, then, as a result of sharing interests, a social
network centred on the creator is established. According to MICO,
its users are incredibly loyal, social networks in the app can
accompany users for a very long time, and meeting and having fun
with friends through MICO has become a daily ritual for many.
Behind MICO is Newborn Town, a global company with audio and video
social networking as its core business. Aside from MICO, there is a
voice-based social product by Newborn Town called YoHo, as well.
YoHo, in contrast to MICO, concentrates on the MENA market and is
also experiencing strong growth in Southeast Asia. That is mainly
because in these regions where religious norms and culture are more
conservative, voice socialization is more user-adaptable than video
socialization that necessitates revealing one's face.
There are many voice rooms with different themes in YoHo, so users
can chat with strangers in whichever room they like or set up a
room with their friends. These voice rooms, accommodating as many
as hundreds of speakers or as few as two or three, have developed
into hubs for users to socialize, make friends and share
information.
3. A virtual social paradise in metaverse
Over the past year or so, the metaverse concept has taken over the
world. Even Facebook, a well-known social media company, has become
Meta. Socialization is an indispensable element of metaverse. Then,
as metaverse is getting well-known, an increasing number of social
apps with metaverse are showing up in app stores, making
socialization more imaginative.
In a social app called IMVU, more than one million people visit it
and spend an average of 55 minutes per day. These users customize
their avatars, share experiences, shop, hang out at cool parties,
and even earn real money creating virtual products on IMVU.
Currently, IMVU provides more than 60 million virtual props, from
clothing to different accessories, with which users can personalize
their virtual avatar to fully express their individual style. In
addition, users can also tailor their chat rooms, host, or join
parties in various virtual scenarios, and interact with others with
exclusive dynamic.
IMVU stated in late 2022 that it would unveil Limited Edition NFTs.
NFTs will more incentivize creators of virtual goods and complete
IMVU's metaverse. After looking into IMVU and other equivalent
products, we may already get a glimpse of the future of social
networking and even the ultimate form of the internet. These apps
are no longer just a place for users seeking a romantic
relationship, instead, they have evolved into a platform for one to
infinitely connect with others without space-time constrains, and
to engage in actual social interactions in a virtual world.
Socialization, as a rigid demand of humans, has never changed, but
social scenes and forms are continually evolving to meet users'
requirements. Today, online dating services, which have been
available for almost 30 years, are being different as a result of
the fact that young people are no longer addicted to fast-food
dating and relationships.
Nowadays, these services place a greater emphasis on giving users
the chance to showcase their special traits and meet close friends,
realizing immersive online social experiences, forming permanent
spiritual companionship, and building a kind of paradise for
various virtual parties.
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