Social dating app Tinder reports that Indian women are far more active than men on its platform. So, we decided to find out if this is a growing trend and why?
Technology has changed the rules of the game. Cupid has struck our smartphones and courtship is not what it used to be a few years ago. At one time, falling in love, followed a usual progression of meeting, talking, going on a few dates and then if all went well, things would move towards the big 'W'. Now, all it takes, is a swipe here and a swipe there and Voila! you have yourself a new date, in a matter of seconds.
In India, it took a while before women turned to apps to find true love or perhaps just a date for a good time but ours is a country that never ceases to surprise. On one hand, we are still battling social confroms where women aren't allowed to date or marry at will and on the other hand technology has become a girl's best friend, when it comes to finding love or atleast a connection. Tinder, the social dating app, has reported a 400% rise in downloads of its app and has also noted that Indian women are far more active on the platform than men. Now, that's pleasantly surprising, considering that the global trend is the other way around.
Tinder India Head, Taru Kapoor said, "We are truly excited about the rapid adoption of Tinder in India…women particularly seem to love Tinder, sending more Super Likes than men each week, which is incredibly empowering."
"I feel, that in today's hectic lifestyle, there's barely anytime to meet guys that's why a lot of us prefer Tinder or other dating apps. It's quick and easy and removes the social awkwardness of randomly approaching men," said Tina Singh (name changed), an avid Tinderite who works 12 hours a day and hence finds it difficult to make time for social outings.
Tinder is one of the many dating apps that has piqued Indian Womens' interest in the recent past. Some India-made counterparts to Tinder include Vee, Desi Crush and Truly Madly, which came up thanks to the surge in the online dating traffic. Truly Madly even has a cute ad campaign that shows Indian women trying to pick out their potential dates, one that resonates with a lot of women from the age of 20 to 35, trying to find true love on their smartphones. There are also Hinge, an app for 'elite dating', which lets you meet people through your second and third-degree connections on Facebook.
"Dating apps facilitate so many more options at one click, which makes it easier for women, without being labelled as a 'serial dater' to choose someone depending on the profiles they come across and unfortunately for women to look for options openly in India especially, is an easy invitation to being labelled as a woman of loose character…but its not the same for men..hence apps make it easier for women," notes Saleha Bootwala, a clinical consellor based out of Pune. She goes on to explain, "Indian women also have to be culturally more careful so apps are a safe 'application review' process. In a dating app you can feed information and find a perfect match. Women are very concerned with personality traits in thier men, whereas most men don't care so much, they are more concerned with how she looks."
Indian Women showing interest in dating apps can also be attributed to the fact that the internet is known to be a neutral playing ground for both the sexes. Research shows that women between the ages of 18 to 34, lead tech adoption in internet usage, mobile phone voice usage, mobile phone location-based services, text messaging, Skype and every social networking site aside from LinkedIn, and these are statistics from 2012. Since then, the adoption of technology by women has increased manyfold. Another report by Business Training Center, Pryor, says, "Women not only use social media more often than men, but they use it in different ways and to access different kinds of information and entertainment."
Reasons glaroe, women in India sure are upping the ante in the app-based dating scene. If you are a woman, do spread the love and share your experiences of using these apps in our comments section below. Happy Swiping!
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Adamya Sharma
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