Over the past two decades, OkCupid has matched dates to what matters to them through our matching questions, which have been answered 10 billion times. During that time, tens of billions of Likes have been sent, billions of matches, tens of billions of Messages exchanged, and hundreds of millions of photos sent. And from the #BlackLivesMatter profile badge to the I’m Pro Choice profile badge, more than 6 and a half million badges have been added to daters’ profiles in recent years, indicating to other users what’s important to them.
ANSWER
While millions of Gen Z and Millennial daters on OkCupid are looking for a partner, they’re still proudly single. When we asked nearly 1 million daters on our app, nearly 8 out of 10 people said they consider themselves independent — and those who do get (5%+) and send (17%+) more Likes on our app compared to people who they say it is not. Last year, there was a 181% increase in mentions of “singles” on OkCupid profiles leading up to cuffing season (October to November), and we’re confident that this trend will lead to healthier, more successful relationships in 2024. Focusing on yourself it allows you to build your self-esteem, evaluate your own feelings and fulfill your personal needs, leading to being able to bring your best self to a relationship.
POLY-DATE
Gen Z and Millennial gamers are increasingly interested in having a political conversation with their games. Recently, nearly 20 million people on OkCupid said they enjoy discussing politics, and with more than 60 countries holding elections in 2024, this is shaping up to be the most political year yet — in politics AND dating. Globally, nearly 8 in 10 (79%) OkCupid daters said they are open to discussing politics with their partner.
TRANSPORTATION
Honesty has always been an indicator of a strong relationship, but younger generations prioritize it even more. Because Gen Z and Millennial lovers have grown up with social media, we’re seeing them adopt a culture of authenticity, honesty, and transparency when it comes to their dating lives. They are not as guarded or private as Gen X, and transparency has become paramount to any relationship they enter into. When asked about the main quality they look for in a partner, honesty (33%) was the most popular answer followed by respect (25%), open-mindedness (23%) and a sense of humor (19%). And mentions of “honesty” and “transparency” increased over 30% in OkCupid profiles in 2023.
DATEHEIST
In 2024, singles are pushing shared religion lower on their priority list than previous generations. The percentage of OkCupid Daters who said religion is important to them dropped from 55% in 2022 to 50% in 2023, and we expect this trend to continue as more people meet online and date outside of their cultures.
VIDEOTAKING
In 2024, singles will value their time even more. We asked over 2.5 million OkCupid dates if they video chat with a date before meeting them in person. In 2017, when we first added this question, only 16% of respondents said they wanted to video chat before meeting. This jumped to over 20% in 2020, and while we expected it to remain a pandemic trend, it actually increased as restrictions eased and has fluctuated between 21% and 23% recently. People want to make sure they vibe with someone before they spend money and time meeting them in person. And video daters first get 15% more Likes and 90% more matches on OkCupid.
Now that you’ve learned about the dating trends for 2024, it’s time to update your dating profile! People who complete their profile on OkCupid get 200% more matches, so what are you waiting for? Download OkCupid today.
Media contact: MichaelK@OkCupid.com
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