Did you feel a low, distant rumble as you packed yet another holiday season into a plastic trash can? This could be the rush of online daters sprinting to love and fame in the new year.
January 8 is Dating Sunday, a day online dating platforms like Coffee Meets Bagel, OkCupid, Bumble, and BLK say it’s the busiest day of the year for people who sign up. associate and send messages. Tinder, for example, sees around 35% more swipes and 30% more matches than on a normal day. Last year, Coffee Meets Bagel saw a 47% increase in registrations on Dating Sunday compared to the previous 30 days. BLK expects a 19% increase this year compared to the average period.
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So what explains this increase in activity on Applications? (Besides the bottomless ability of humans to thought to regroup?)
Maybe it’s the way your aunt asked you if you were still single while you were shoving another piece of fudge in your mouth over the holidays. Maybe it was that awkward moment at midnight on New Years Eve when everyone seemingly paired off and you had to check your credit score on your phone.
Or maybe you swept all the way.
Sundays are normally a busy day for dating, Michael Kaye, global communications manager for OkCupid, said via email, “but after New Years it’s on a whole different level. People are starting to act on their resolutions — to be healthier, more fiscally responsible, and to date more so they won’t be single over the holidays. So now is when you really want to make time for your love life.
Might as well seize the moment when other daters have renewed their goodwill. Coffee Meets Bagel reports that daters are 22% more likely to chat with a match compared to the previous week. In a global survey of its daters, Bumble found that 70% felt optimistic about their upcoming romantic prospects.
Plus, there’s only about six weeks left until Valentine’s Day.
Ah yes, life on the hamster wheel.
If you’re thinking of joining this apparent legion of freshly optimistic daters, thumbs up eager to go on Sunday, there are a few ways you can prepare — a refresh in your profile couldn’t hurt. Let me shamelessly point you to some past Love Syncs columns that might be helpful.
There is also app-specific information you can research to help increase your chances of finding a match. For one thing, many of these services have released times when their platforms are busiest: Bumble, for example, predicts that the most popular time to swipe will be from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. Pulling out data from past years, the evening seems to be the busiest time. Whether you get lost in a crowd or have more eyes on your profile, it’s a draw.
And if for some reason you are locked in a concrete bunker on Sunday, all is not lost. BLK said “peak dating season” continues through Valentine’s Day and sweeps are up 18% from the offseason. OkCupid’s Kaye said the whole month would be a jumping off period. Based on last year’s numbers, the platform could see over 40 million matches.
Godspeed, daters.
CNET’s Love Syncs is an advice column focused on online dating. If you have a question about how to find love through the app, send it to [email protected] for consideration.
