IRL is hard. Try Blink.
Back in 2019, I surveyed 600+ people about their dating lives and found an underlying theme in the data: it is hard AF to meet single people in real life. 25% of single people said that trying to figure out where to meet other single people is the MAIN reason they dislike dating – and that was before the pandemic. In 2020, it was all but impossible to meet single folks in real life.
And it’s not just an illusion. Technology has actually made it harder to meet people in real life. Think about how many people are using technology like Instacart, Peloton, or Amazon Prime instead of grocery shopping, working out, or running errands in person. Our opportunities to meet other people in real life have dwindled with the rise of technology for reasons like this.
Not to mention, it’s just harder to approach someone in person to start a conversation – 76% of single people find it difficult to start a conversation in person with someone they find attractive. Which probably explains why a whopping 89% of single people say they are never, rarely, or sometimes approached by people who express some degree of interest in them.
Unsurprisingly, this has resulted in a huge shift to dating apps over the past few years with almost two-thirds (63%) of single people having used a dating app before. With a few clicks, you can have a profile set up and start matching with people. In a world where it’s harder and harder to meet people IRL, dating apps were a great disruption to the dating scene.
But some of the shininess of traditional “swipe-based” dating apps has worn off. In fact, 44% of women say they hate or dislike using traditional “swipe-based” dating apps, while 28% of men say the same thing.
Many users feel that swiping is shallow and doesn’t allow them to build a connection before making a snap judgement based on appearance. Here are just a handful of quotes from single folks that illustrate their frustration with traditional dating apps.
“Relationships don't seem like they can be as successful when formed through nothing but a picture and short description.”
“Reducing people down to judging appearances sucks because photos aren’t always accurate.”
“Dating apps are too heavily reliant on pictures. Nobody is interested in getting to know an average person, only very attractive ones.”
This negative sentiment toward dating apps leads to a high degree of churn: 86% of users report having deleted their dating app or profile before, and 63% say they’ve deleted their profile multiple times.
It’s past time for a disruption to the dating app scene. Swipe-based apps have had their moment and single folks are looking for a dating app where they can build connections that aren’t exclusively based on their appearance.
Enter Blink, the first dating app to prioritize real connections without the influence of superficial traits. Call it a voice-first speed dating, if you will. Like traditional dating apps, Blink is a convenient and easy way to meet other single folks. But unlike traditional dating apps, Blink strips away the superficial elements and allows you to make real connections with a 10-minute voice-only speed date.
