Algorithm's arrow
New Zealand Listener|December 02-08, 2023
Older adults are now embracing online dating as enthusiastically as digital natives. But many find the path to true love as pothole-strewn as old-school approaches.
SARAH CATHERALL
Algorithm's arrow

A couple of months after his marriage ended, Ian Howarth signed up with an online dating app. A client had told the marketing writer: "You need to get onto Bumble you'll be a catch," he says, laughing.

But online dating was like learning a new language for the dad who was single again after 28 years. Howarth duly uploaded his profile to Bumble via Facebook, which the app allows. But it also meant the algorithm divined that the 52-year-old Aucklander was after someone older, and he was suddenly matched with women over 60 seeking "hook ups" (casual encounters).

Eventually, Howarth got the wording right to indicate he was interested in a more settled relationship. Not long after he rewrote his profile, he met his current partner, who lives in another part of Auckland. They moved in very different social circles. He says they would have been very unlikely to have met without the help of a dating app. "If you are in a position where you're trying to meet people, there is no simpler or easier or better approach than online dating," he says.

The biggest players in dating apps have been around for about a decade: market leader Tinder has been downloaded more than 530 million times since its 2012 launch, leading to more than 75 billion matches (where both parties "swipe right" to indicate they like each other). Bumble, founded by Whitney Wolfe Herd, one of the original partners in Tinder, will turn 10 in December next year. In 2022, more than one billion matches were struck through Bumble, and more than 10.1 billion messages were exchanged on the app.

On Bumble, the woman has to make the first move. Other big players in the online love race are Badoo, Hinge, aimed at younger adults, and Grindr, launched in 2009 and aimed then at gay men (it's since broadened to the wider LGBTQI+ community).

TRENDING OLDER, FEMALE

Denne historien er fra December 02-08, 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra December 02-08, 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA NEW ZEALAND LISTENERSe alt
First-world problem
New Zealand Listener

First-world problem

Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Applying intelligence to AI
New Zealand Listener

Applying intelligence to AI

I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Nazism rears its head
New Zealand Listener

Nazism rears its head

Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Staying ahead of the game
New Zealand Listener

Staying ahead of the game

Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Grasping the nettle
New Zealand Listener

Grasping the nettle

Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Hangry? Eat breakfast
New Zealand Listener

Hangry? Eat breakfast

People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.

time-read
3 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Chemical reaction
New Zealand Listener

Chemical reaction

Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Me and my guitar
New Zealand Listener

Me and my guitar

Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.

time-read
2 mins  |
September 9, 2024
Time is on my side
New Zealand Listener

Time is on my side

Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?

time-read
7 mins  |
September 9, 2024
The kids are not alright
New Zealand Listener

The kids are not alright

Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.

time-read
4 mins  |
September 9, 2024