WASHINGTON — Younger generations are swapping dating apps for live events as they grapple with online dating app fatigue.
A new report from event management site Eventbrite found a rise in speed dating and singles events in the last year, with over 1.5 million searches for such events on the platform.
The report, comprised of event data from a one-year period, found attendance to singles and dating events increased 42% from 2022 to 2023.
"Singles have voiced their frustrations with online dating, and we’ve heard them loud and clear: they want more in-person opportunities to connect and bond over mutual passions, be it paddle board yoga, kombucha brewing, backyard beekeeping, or freehand glassblowing," Eventbrite's CEO and co-founder Julia Hartz said in a statement.
Eventbrite's report, which surveyed about 1,000 people, found that more than 50% of daters have a hard time starting or continuing meaningful conversations online. Safety was also a top concern among daters.
Additionally, nearly half of Gen Z participants and more than a third of Millennials noted one of the biggest challenges of online dating is finding potential partners who have shared interests.
As a result, Eventbrite found that young singles are increasingly moving away from bars and parties to hobby-based and interest-focused events.
Following the recent boom on the platform, Eventbrite has launched a dedicated page where people can find dating events of all kinds.
The shift in the dating scene comes as many young daters are experiencing "swipe fatigue" from popular dating apps, according to the report.
Earlier this year, a class-action lawsuit was filed against Tinder, Hinge and other Match dating apps alleging that they are filled with addictive features.
The lawsuit says Match intentionally designs its dating platforms with game-like features that “lock users into a perpetual pay-to-play loop” prioritizing profit over promises to help users find relationships. This, the suit claims, turns users into “addicts” who purchase ever-more-expensive subscriptions to access special features that promise romance and matches.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
