New Delhi: The year 2020 might have felt like a plot twist we didn’t see coming, but members of dating app Tinder didn’t write it off. As of Match Group’s Q3 earnings, messages and use of the Swipe feature at Tinder are up double-digits versus the end of February.
While ‘in-real-life’ was on pause, members took to the app to share 2020’s biggest cultural moments. Folks used it to chat, meet, hang out and swap creative date hacks and shrugs, all while staying socially and physically distant. Tinder bios were a way for members to show who they are and what they care about, and profiles have never been more creative, dynamic, or revealing than they were in 2020. Though they were thrown more curveballs than ever, they still managed to unapologetically define their own dating rules.
Looking at a year’s worth of Tinder bios, the themes of creativity and resilience stand out. Here are the 10 most essential trends that happened on Tinder in 2020:
Pandemic pick up lines took over Tinder. Mentions of ‘quarantine & chill’ took off in March, as lockdown woes inspired creative one-liners in the spirit of ‘Let’s be like covid and catch each other’ or ‘Wash your hands so you can hold mine’. Masks became a dating essential. Members were “Down to mask up and meet up”, with mask mentions up nearly 2.5x by April 2020 and mentions for the ‘masked face’ emoticon went up almost 5x by April 2020 from the beginning of the pandemic.
Tinder was the place to share a collective at 2020. The most-used emoji on Tinder in 2020 was a shrug, as members showed uncertainty and ambivalence about the future.
For the first time, everyone went through the same thing together and they found solace in shared activities. Dalgona Coffee, Bored in the House, and Banana bread found themselves in member’s bios reflective of quarantine trends around the world.
WAP brought unapologetic body positivity to Tinder bios. In August, WAP by Cardi B quickly became the #1 anthem on Tinder and held through 2020, inspiring many to put themselves out there and share their own dance moves. Support for Causes held strong. 2019 had ‘environment’ as a top trending word in bios and come 2020 the pandemic did not put a damper on the Tinder community’s support for it and climate change. Mentions of Climate Change more than doubled in 2020 from 2019, signalling how members take shared values seriously while matching.
As India collectively cried while watching “Kasoor”, Tinder members took to their profiles to include the song in their bios. Gaming was also popular as a theme on Tinder profiles in 2020 with mentions of Ludo also rising significantly early in the year. What was also popular was “Baba Ka Dhaba” which made its 2020 debut on social media and on Tinder member’s bios.
What also ruled on Tinder was solving the ‘Rasode Main Kaun Tha’ mystery. While some people used the meme to promote the nutritional value of chickpeas, Tinder members asked the question in their bios, even though we know how it ended.
IANS