Basında ÖzÜ - No Change in Use of Dating Apps in Virus Times: Report (English)

Hürriyet Daily News

A man tries to match with an user via an online app. Nearly 80 percenî of Tinder users in Turkey are said to be men while women make up jusî 20 percent of the users, according to a report.

No change in use of dating apps in virüs times: Report

People are focusing on online work meetings rather than meeting ne w people online during coronavirus lockdovvns, according to a report revealed by a digital media research company

There has been no drastic rise in users of online dating apps during novel coronavirus restrictions, according to the latest data released.

Digital media research company Gemius revealed that people in Turkey, which registered its first coronavirus case in March, largely stayed indoors and ensured social distancing.

It said that the U.S.-based Tinder had 800,000 users in Turkey in January 2020. The number increased by a mere 10 percent during the restrictions, reaching 900,000 by May end.

Gemius Turkey, vvhich analyzed the effects of the pandemic on digital users in Turkey, revealed that people focused more on their online job meetings and online classes as students rather than meeting new people on the internet.

In recent years, online dating apps such as Tinder, The Inner Circle, OkCupid, and Happn have become popular among young adults in Turkey, according to a study by psychology department of Istanbul's Özyeğin University.

The research, Online Dating Platforms as the Digital-MatchMaker, conducted by Selenga Giirmen and Dilşah Ece Eren, hovvever, proposed that young adults in Turkey have trust concerns in terms of online dating context.

Eren and Gürmen confirmed that Turks do consider matchmaking websites unreliable and Virtual dating is not the most preferred way of matchmaking, and hinted that the phenomenon furthered during virüs restrictions.

COVID-19 era

The Inner Circle app officially confirmed that the number of messages being sent is up by 116 percent.

The dating app's internal questionnaire revealed that 80 percent of Turkish users were vvilling to go out on dates during the pandemic.

Yet, Eren and Gürmen said, there is so far no data available to conclude the coronavirus impact on online dating in Turkey.

According to the Gemius report, online dating app usage did not increase in Turkey during the COVID-19 era.

As Gürmen and Eren stated, there is a stigma attached to Online dating in Turkey.

During the virüs lockdovvn, there was no way to test information entered online. Hence, trust concerns of people may have increased, choosing to stay away from internet dating.

However, Eren and Gürmen stated that these are only assumptions. Data-based studies need to be conducted to investigate further.

At least 20 percent of Tinder users in Turkey are said to be vvomen, vvhile men make up 80 percent.

Although online dating may stili seem an untraditional way of meeting, and may not fulfill ordinary standards, the app, according to Eren and Gürmen, has been considering social contexts and traditional lifestyles of Muslim-majority countries such as Turkey.