The online dating scene is constantly evolving. New social apps and services like Marriage Pact and Glimpse are on the rise. Above all, they are changing the way people connect with one another.
If you briefly look back in time, you will see how each era of online dating has drastically changed through technological and innovative advancements. Before swipe-heavy apps like Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble dominated the scene, websites like Match.com and E-Harmony were heavily influencing the way individuals dated online.
And with each new online dating era, people’s preferences towards this activity have gradually grown in its favor.
According to a 2013 report by Pew Research Center, “59% of all internet users agree with the statement that online dating is a good way to meet people.” Comparatively, only 44% shared this belief in 2005.
Moreover, a global pandemic has led to an overall uptick in online dating.
So what’s next? Well, new ways to form online, romantic connections are constantly popping up each year. Additionally, these applications and services are only becoming more and more creative.
With these circumstances at play, it’s highly likely to see a new wave of platforms affect the online dating scene once again.
During this Zoom Era, keep an eye out for these apps and services listed below:
1. Glimpse
Glimpse is a round-robin video call platform, providing users effortless and relevant pairings.
With Glimpse, you can host a variety of virtual events. For instance, Glimpse has been utilized for rush events, virtual mixers, and even online speed-dating events.
Since Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching, using Glimpse is the perfect opportunity to host an online speed-dating event of your own! And no need to worry, because this takes less than 5 minutes to set up.
Once you set up an event, you can also utilize Glimpse’s cool and unique features. In particular, Glimpse’s icebreaker feature is great for facilitating conversations. It makes it especially easy for online strangers to grow closer to one another!
Nowadays, the lack of in-person events makes it harder than ever to socialize and meet new people. However, Glimpse showcases the only barrier to worry about now is a stable Wi-Fi connection.
Currently, Glimpse has been spotted in almost 200 universities around the world while most recently crossing their 500,000th match! For more information, click here.
2. Marriage Pact
Marriage Pact is a match-pairing service run by and for college students. Recently, this student-run organization has been garnering traction in schools like Dartmouth, Northwestern and Duke — with plans to expand into more colleges and universities soon.
So how does it work?
To start off, students fill out a 10-minute questionnaire. After some computations through Marriage Pact’s algorithm, students will receive their statistically compatible, romantic match (with someone from their respective school). Essentially, whoever the students match with will be their ideal, back-up marriage partner.
According to their website, they have successfully created 15,747 matches as well as 1 marriage. Marriage Pact is currently limited to 6 campuses across the United States thus far.
In an article with yaledailynews, Lisbette Acosta ’24 from Yale University stated, “I think it’s fascinating involving statistics and something that’s hard to quantify like love. Merging them — I think that’s fascinating, and I want to be a part of the experiment.”
Click here to find out more.
3. Monet Dating
Monet Dating is an app creating relationships through drawings. With this app, users send each other drawings instead of the typical text-based conversations.
After blowing up through a viral TikTok — with over 500,000 views — Monet Dating has garnered over 20,000 downloads since the app’s launch on December 16th, 2020. The organization’s goal is to end “really boring conversations on dating apps.”
According to co-founder, Jonathan Xue, it was reported that “94% of its user-base are between the ages of 18–24.”
Backed with investor funding and a Gen Z demographic, Monet Dating’s next steps are geared towards integrating “university matching to help college students meet each other, no matter where they are living.”
4. OKZoomer
While Marriage Pact capitalized on the novel idea of matching you with a potential back-up marriage partner, OKZoomer deviates slightly by connecting “college students to new friends or potential partners.”
During the early months of the pandemic, OKZoomer came to fruition after a google form was posted on a Facebook, Ivy League meme page. Several months later, OKZoomer turned into a fully-fledged service and now its presence is occupied by 170 different colleges and universities.
Through OKZoomer’s very own match-making algorithm, “84% of its users have matched for a date,” while “47% of users have made a new friend” — as listed on their website.
“Modern problems require modern solutions.” — Dave Chapelle
Yup, this goes for online dating too. Best of luck to those searching for love this Valentine’s Day & beyond!
Are you hosting an event for Valentine’s Day?
Check out Glimpse’s hosting guide to run it like a pro.
