Dating Apps Are Less About Love and More About Entertainment
Key takeaways
- Many long-term relationships start out with fun, casual dating
- Almost half of Tinder users are married or in a relationship
- Gen Z singles consider bonding over fun activities a form of intimacy
Dating is supposed to be fun. The lucky ones meet the right person, and something clicks. They start spending more time together, and a relationship develops.
Of course, this is the best-case scenario. Most dating app users will present themselves in the best possible light. This might include telling you what you want to hear – that they are also looking for love and a serious relationship – because they don’t want to risk losing out on a hookup. This happened before dating apps existed and will happen in 2025 and beyond.
More experienced dating app users are aware that if they put something like “just looking for casual fun” on their profiles, it will drastically reduce their chances of meeting someone that isn’t on the same page.
On the flip side, some people will share that they are only looking for a serious relationship, but they turn out to be open to casual dating until they find the One. Many long-term relationships start out with casual dating. It’s a way to filter out users who are only looking for hookups.
It comes down to the choice between casting a wide net and wasting less time. Needless to say, this is an individual choice that depends on personality, needs, and expectations.
It seems the majority is choosing entertainment. Research firm GlobalWebIndex (GWI) found that 30% of Tinder users were married, and 12% were already in a relationship. Considering that around 70% of users are male, Tinder could well be a haven for married men. Dating married people is fun because you can be yourself with them, and there is no pressure to define the relationship.
Dating Apps Are Less About Love and More About Entertainment: Gen Z sets the tone
On that note, the youngest generation on dating apps – Gen Z – is embracing situationships and setting the tone of fun over long-term expectations. A 2025 survey by Bumble found that 49% of Gen Z singles consider bonding over unusual interests a form of intimacy. In response, the app launched almost three dozen new Interest Badges like house plants, trivia, crocheting, thrifting, etc., to celebrate diverse passions that can cause users to form a bond.
Uncertainty about the future—like job security, finances, and climate change—is strongly impacting dating in 2025. 95% of singles stated that their worries about the future affect how and who they date. In a world where nothing is certain, ambiguity would obviously impact relationship prospects, and many are resigned to the notion that the person they are now dating might not be the person they’re dating several months from now, and if it doesn’t work, at least they had fun.
A poll on 2025 dating trends published by the NY Post offers insight into interesting quirks, like people connecting “over dark sides.” 28% of singles have bonded over being grim or shared pet peeves and dislikes. Dating app users have also become more accepting of partners’ so-called “icks,” a phenomenon involving getting turned off by cringe, awkward things a potential mate does. 36% of those surveyed would “stICK instead of running from the ick.”
One final dating trend that deserves special mention is yapping. Yappers go on dates to be heard and have fun, in some cases at the expense of the other person. They talk incessantly, often about unimportant things. Almost half of respondents got “yap-trapped” – stuck on a date with someone who wouldn’t stop talking. For some, it’s a nervous habit, and they don’t realize they’re doing it.
Whatever one’s reason to use dating apps, they should be comfortable enough to not take it personally when someone isn’t on the same page.
