Life
This Is The Most Popular Dating App Among 18- To 34-Year-Olds Right Now
It's not exactly a secret that dating app use among millennials is super common: we use our phones for everything else, so it makes sense that we'd use an app to find a partner or hookup, too. That being said, not all dating apps are created equal, and some are more popular than others — but which one takes the top spot? According to a new survey of 294 singles from Piper Jaffray, Tinder is the most popular dating app among single millennials: 27 percent of millennial respondents said they use Tinder, as opposed to only 12 percent who said they use runner-up Bumble, Yahoo Finance reports.
But what is it about Tinder in particular that appeals to millennials? "Raised on video games and coming of age during social media, it's not surprising that the average millennial gets bored easily and can have a short attention span — [and] Tinder is ideal for this," Jonathan Bennett, dating/relationship expert at Double Trust Dating, tells Bustle. "After all, you don't need to wade through someone's life history to find them attractive. Tinder gives you the essentials and you can make a choice from there."
There's also the simple fact that Tinder has been around — and steadily gaining popularity — for as long as many of us have dabbled in online dating, meaning plenty of millennials have long thought of it as their go-to dating app. "Unlike many of the other major online dating services, Tinder was launched as many millennials were getting to the age where they wanted a relationship," Bennett says. "So, from a purely practical standpoint, I'd suspect many millennials use Tinder because they're comfortable with it, it meets their needs, and they see no need to use anything else."
But just because Tinder is the most widely used dating app among our generation, doesn't mean it's the only worthwhile dating app out there. If you're curious about what other apps young people frequent, here's a ranking of the six most popular dating apps among millennials in 2018, according to the survey.
1Tinder
According to the Piper Jaffray survey, 27 percent of single millennials — as well as 22 percent of single non-millennials — said Tinder was their dating app of choice, which could be due in part to how user-friendly the app is.
"For a generally very tech literate generation that demands a user friendly experience, the simplicity of Tinder is a huge plus," Bennett says. "You get a short bio and a few photos, then you swipe. It's a simple, but effective system."
2Bumble
The second-most popular app among Millennials, the survey found, was Bumble — an app that originally made a name for itself because of its focus on giving women more power on dating apps, and has since expanded to give users even more options, like Bumble BFF (for finding friends) and Bumble Bizz (for making professional connections).
3OkCupid
Ahh, OkCupid: an oldie but a goodie. The third-most popular dating app first launched in 2004 (!!), but the OkCupid that we now know and love has been through a lot of changes in the past decade. Most recently, OkCupid has taken on the motto "dating deserves better," and has made it a point to focus on helping users foster more real, deeper connections — swoon.
4PlentyOfFish
According to the survey, PlentyOfFish was the fourth-most popular dating app among millennials. But even though it's not necessarily the frontrunner for *millennials* looking for love, it still has plenty of loyal users: it's the best dating app to use in several states (like Rhode Island and Maine).
5Coffee Meets Bagel
The fifth-most popular app among Gen Y is Coffee Meets Bagel, an app that's goal is to help you find your "everything bagel" (how cute is that?!). CMB also has a slightly more unique format for heterosexual users: male users are given 21 matches (aka "bagels") each day at noon, and they can like or pass on each one — then women are shown men who've already liked them and can choose who among that bunch they want to connect with.
6Match
Last but not least is Match, an app that markets itself as a dating app to find a more serious, long-lasting connection. But even though it ranks last in this particular survey doesn't mean it's not worth trying, particularly if you — like many of your fellow millennials — want to find love.
No matter which dating app is your fave, though, there's always the potential for you to find your perfect match online — so get out there and get to swiping!
