The dating app reveals the top trends to help you navigate dating in 2024

Bumble, the first women’s dating app, has released its annual dating trends for 2024. The popular dating app gathered insights from more than 25,000 singles on the app worldwide to identify the trends that will define dating and relationships in the coming year.

App trends for 2023 focus on love abroad with Wanderlove, love relationships beyond your type with Open-casting and setting new boundaries with our partners, our business lives and our finances. Looking ahead, 2024 should be the year of “yourself” in dating and relationships with more people looking back at what they value and want.

This personal prioritization shows singles rejecting the constant pursuit of perfection, rejecting outdated timelines, challenging ‘jobification’ and placing a higher value on emotional vulnerability, self-acceptance and shared priorities.

Entering 2024, there is a sense of optimism and clarity for the ‘year of self’ as the app’s research shows that more than half (59%) of Indian women surveyed enter the new year with a clear view of what they want from their romantic lives.

Bumble’s relationship trend predictions include:

1. Val-Core Dating
   Singles today look for common priorities and expect their partners not only to take care of social matters, but also to be actively involved. Val-Core refers to the rise of people who value engagement in issues that matter to them. For 1 in 4 (25%) people on Bumble, it’s crucial that their partner is actively involved in politics and social issues, moreover, it makes them more attractive. In fact, 41% of Indians say that a potential partner’s participation in politics and voting is important to them. When it comes to dating, Bumble’s research shows that women are less open to someone with different political views, as 1 in 3 (33%) women worldwide are put off if someone they’re dating isn’t aware of current social issues. When it comes to dating, Bumble research shows that the top social reason Indians want their partners to be involved in is human rights issues (64%). Research also shows that for 38% of Indian women, it is important that a potential partner has a passion for the same values ​​as them.
2. Betterment Burnout
   From biohacking and starting their day at 5am, to tuning into self-help podcasts, there has been a rise in people ‘self-optimizing’ – striving to become the perfect version of themselves. This has led to the majority of singles (55%) feeling pressure to constantly look for ways to improve themselves, leaving 1 in 4 (24%) feeling unworthy of a partner. Looking ahead to 2024, singles are rebelling against constant self-improvement with more than 2 in 3 women surveyed (68%) globally taking active steps to be happier with who they are in the here and now. In fact, 56% of Indian women will now only date people who won’t try to change them.
3. Intuitive intimacy
   For people today, and women in particular, attraction seems to come down to one key thing: emotional intimacy. Singles are focused on finding safety, security and understanding, and more than a third (35%) of people surveyed on Bumble India believe that emotional intimacy is now more important than sex, and is actually more attractive than a physical relationship. When it comes to dating, 3 out of 4 women (78%) say it’s crucial that their partner understands both emotional and physical intimacy. In 2024, it’s time to feel.
4. Open-hearted masculinity
   The year was filled with global conversations about masculinity and gender roles in fashion, media, music and film (ken-ergy, anyone?). When it comes to relationships, 1 in 4 (25%) men globally say they have actively changed their behavior, becoming more vulnerable and open with the people they date than ever before. For a quarter of Indian men (26%), this newfound openness has had a positive impact on their mental health, and for 37% of Indian men, the lack of vulnerability is now a deal breaker.
5. MVP (Most Valuable Partner)
   With a new wave of tennis stars, a never-ending stream of sports documentaries, and next year’s global competition, sports will take top spot in dating — or maybe we’re all looking for our own Taylor and Kelce love story? For 35% of unmarried Indians, the shared love of sports has now become a must-have, whether you are a player or just a spectator. Our obsession with sports is also changing the way we date with 30% of Indian singles stating that watching sports together is important, more so among Gens (33%) than Millennials (26%). Almost three-quarters (73%) of profiles on Bumble in India include a sports interest badge, with top athletics including: cricket and football.
6. Consider the date
   This year’s prioritization of self-care and mental health has led to more than half (58%) of singles being more open about their mental health and making a concerted effort to slow down. Indian singles are reshaping the way they date to better protect their mental health, with 1 in 3 (33%) actively ‘slow dating’ and being mindful of how often they date to ensure quality over quantity, even more so among women. In fact, 42% of Indian women actively seek men who value both time and self-care. This reverses a trend that Bumble identified in the pandemic, causing 1 in 4 (25%) people in India to “pretend” love is actively discovered by anyone who treats dating as a checklist exercise.

Samarpita Samaddar, India Head of Communications, Bumble says, “In 2023, we have identified trends around travel romance, pushing new boundaries and dating outside your type. We know that cultural conversations about misogyny, women’s rights and social issues, which are intertwined with our relationship life, have left many exhausted this year. This has affected the way people want to date – people feel more empowered in their sense of self and look for people who value what’s important to them, whether it’s social causes, lifestyle choices or even their favorite sports. It’s exciting to see how people are now looking more inward and wanting to show themselves as authentic versions of themselves. We predict that 2024 will bring the year of the self, with Indians themselves feeling more empowered than ever to prioritize what they value and what they won’t stand for, leading to new clarity about what they want in their romantic lives.”

To help singles make the most of 2024, the app has launched new features including Best Bees, a curated daily roundup of four compatible profiles that help you find more relevant connections faster. Do you see someone who also shares your passion for sports or sustainability? You can send a message using the Compliments feature.