Coronavirus Has Changed the Dating Game — And It Isn’t All Bad
With half the world stuck at home due to the coronavirus, offices are holding meetings over remote teleconference software, families are reuniting over FaceTime, and people looking for love are turning to dating apps in droves.
One app in particular has seen a seismic increase in users over the past month: SweetRing, one of the most popular international dating apps, has a growing presence in the United States, has seen record user growth since the outbreak of COVID-19. In Asia, the app has grown 29% since February 19th, while in the US, it has experienced a whopping 36% increase in new users since March 8th.
These are no dummy accounts, either — swipes in Asia have gone up by 30% and by 23% in the United States. Most tellingly, messages sent are up by 420%, as well. It’s clear that SweetRing users are motivated to find love and very engaged in their conversations, setting it apart from other dating apps.
Importantly, the percentage of matches made on the app has remained stable, indicating that SweetRing users are still very focused on what they want out of a partner, another indication of their romantic seriousness.
“Right now the best way to stop this virus crisis is to stay home and to stay healthy, but at the same time, this is actually the best timing for people to look for their loved ones,” says Irene Chang, marketing director at SweetRing. “While everyone is self-isolating from others, people now have more time to really communicate with their matches and figure out what kind of qualities they are looking for.”
One thing that separates SweetRing from its competitors is its daily limit on right swipes. Instead of providing unlimited likes, SweetRing users can only “like 15 other users every 24 hours.
Another special feature SweetRing introduced is called the “date posting” feature. With this feature, people can make a post on what they want to do for the date and people who are interested can sign up for it.
“Our research has shown that when users get over 15 likes, the matching rate goes up while the response rate goes down,” she says. “That’s not the desired result. SweetRing is an app that helps people to find the love of their lives, not just an app for validation.”