Trust me; you can meet your soulmate or future life partner while searching and dating someone via your internet connection. Dating was this easier. Don’t believe us? Just ask Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas. They caught up with each other through Instagram DMs.
No, we aren’t lying anyway.
The urban crowd has now become more open to the idea of Dating. And yes, many are dating but only announce it in some places. Even with modernity pushing its boundaries, a large section is yet to open up to Dating.
Dating in the Current Times
Rajesh and Meena from Hero No. 1 are fantastic examples of the typical old-school romance. You meet each other in surprising circumstances; you end up falling in love, your family is against it, you two secretly date each other, and you try to convince your family. So, yeah, that’s the gist of the old-school romance of how Dating in India was back in the 1990s.
Some of my friends’ parents who have had a love marriage say it is quite a dramatic scene. “You never expect it. It just happens. We were in the same school and were quite good friends. When you suddenly find yourself too into someone, it is a shock. Then when you begin a relationship, it’s all hush. Don’t tell anyone, or my family will kick me out of the house.”
While the mediums keep changing, one fact remains the same: relationships go on secretly. No Indian would ever have the guts to tell their parents they’re dating someone. That would probably make a great horror movie with spicy masala drama.
The Online Dating Scenes in India
There have been several examples of how people who texted online ended up becoming a couple and marrying later, like Joe Jonas and Sophie Turner.
Sophie Turner and Joe Jonas followed each other on Instagram, and one fine day, Joe Jonas texted her through DM. That was a starting point for their story. It might seem ridiculous to say that you’ll surely meet your partner on a social media platform, but there are several stories where people have met their soulmates online. It is not the norm, but you’ll indeed find exceptions.
Online Dating caught more wind during the pandemic. That was when many youngsters changed their minds. My friend who decided that online dating was exceedingly terrible would now say, “Well, I know how many horror stories are floating around about meeting creepy guys and having horrible experiences, but I think it’s all about the individual. Once in a while, you’ll also find exciting people. So dating online is not an entirely bad idea. Some dating experiences could be bad but could also turn into something good.”
Rise of Dating Apps
Ever since online Dating started to gain ground in India, people have been willing to try dating apps such as Tinder, Bumble, OkCupid, Happn, etc. . But the pandemic has brought a rise in the usage of dating apps. It has seen three times the increase in its user base and has noted that even small towns are now open to dating apps.
Tinder’s Year In A Swipe 2021 has claimed that many singles are becoming open to a video call for their first date. Even 52% of global people have mentioned video dates in their bio.
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Dating Apps Know it All
There are specific differences in the algorithms used in various apps. Those dating apps’ interfaces show you profiles similar to those you have previously with whom Dating Apps paired you; this is called collaborative filters. They store the data on the kind of people you swipe right to, the type of people you match with, and when you link your social media account with the App, it stores whatever you like in the social media app. Based on it, they show you profiles like how Netflix or Amazon works with recommendations.
Hence, they rely on more App usage to receive data on the kind of people they like and would want to get paired with on those dating applications.
Bumble/ Tinder What are you using these days?
Bumble is one of the most used dating apps in India. It ranks right after Tinder in its user database. While the users are more on Tinder, most women often prefer Bumble as opposed to Tinder.
Bumble differs from Tinder in that it makes it more women-oriented, which means the woman initiates the conversation and takes the course of it.
In an interview with Forbes, Whitney Wolfe Herd said, “I always wanted to have a scenario where the guy didn’t have my number, but I had his.” With this idea in mind, she founded Bumble, which has a specific feature of making it so that the woman has to text first after there is a match.
While Bumble has Friendship and Networking interfaces, most bumble users are there for Dating. Bumble has become a favorite app for its women-centric interface. In addition to having women text first, if you just changed your mind after matching, Bumble allows you to back out without ever receiving a message from the person Bumble previously paired you with, which reportedly allowed several women to be safe from certain creepy messages that some men send, which they assume sound catchy.
A large part of Bumble users in India seek a relationship. Tinder is, however, used for short-term meetings and hook-ups. It has more ‘relationship-ready’ people than Tinder.
Bumble has a firm 24-hour policy which you can extend (one match per week for free users and a more significant option for premium accounts). Bumble blocks a match if a woman doesn’t text in the first 24 hours. Also, Bumble blocks further engagement if the one matched doesn’t reply in 24 hours. Well, you need to strike up a conversation within 24 hours.
Like one of my introverted friends said about dating on Bumble, “It’s a miracle for an introverted guy because I don’t have to go crazy about sounding like an idiot or not know what to say when I have to send a message. I can wait for the lady to text me first and see how to keep up the conversation.”
Bumble additionally also uses an artificial intelligence system to flush out any nude pictures you may receive as a security measure. So you don’t receive sleazy and uncomfortable photos on the App.
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Final Thoughts
Dating in India has changed over the years. But it is yet to reach quite the same arc as that in the western countries. While it has become a norm in western countries to date people, India has yet to achieve that kind of openness. Most people in India still date in secret and are incredibly fearful of the idea that their parents would find out, and they probably have no idea how it would end. But it isn’t all bad news; we also have seen many parents accepting many relationships in India.
The excellent news is that today getting connected is not a problem anymore. We have a larger pool of people to choose from those dating apps. The youngsters are opening their doors to various people and meeting each other.
Let’s date people but be responsible enough.
