Your hot vax summer could soon get even hotter.
Bumble, the dating app where women make the first move, has revealed the results of a new survey of users, and it looks like more people are ready to start in-person dating again as COVID-19 cases in the United Sates have dropped.
Among the U.S. users who have indicated first-date preferences in the app’s COVID-ready center, almost 90% said they want to date face to face, Bumble says, with 46% saying they would be comfortable with a “regular” first date and another 41% saying they’d prefer to keep it socially distanced.
Overall, the app has seen higher recent growth in cities and states where vaccination rates are higher.
And your future significant other cares if you’ve been vaccinated. Among the survey participants, 30% said they would not date or have sex with an unvaccinated person, according to Bumble. That data point comes as Bumble and other dating services—including its Match-owned rival, Tinder—are rolling out vaccination badges and other features to let users easily identify others who have received the shot.
Here are a few other interesting stats from the Bumble survey:
- 65% now think it’s possible to fall in love without meeting someone in person
- 39% say “ghosting” has declined since the start of the pandemic, while 31% say “catfishing” has declined
- 91% say there is no longer a stigma attached to online dating
- 38% prefer to go on virtual first dates with people before meeting them in person.
In a statement, Bumble CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd said the company would use the feedback from the survey to further tailor its services in a changing landscape. “Over the course of the pandemic, we’ve remained intently focused on listening to our community to understand how their needs have evolved and we have continued to innovate our product to meet that demand,” she said.
Shares of Bumble have risen almost 20% over the last month as COVID-related restrictions have eased and U.S. infection rates have plummeted. The company’s stock hit the skids after its highly anticipated IPO in February, hitting a low point in mid-May.
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