Tinder releases the ‘Year in Swipe 2020’, shines a light on how GenZ dated this year

The COVID pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns were probably among the worst experiences of our lives. With so much stress, dating was the last thing on people’s minds.

Wrong. While people did not meet each other, they definitely met on the web. Online dating was one of the biggest beneficiaries in 2020.

Match Group, the parent company of Tinder, saw, as part of its Q3 earnings, messages and use of the Swipe feature up in double-digits, versus the end of February.

Thus, it feels right when Tinder India said on YouTube, “2020 might have felt like a plot twist we didn’t see coming, but Tinder members didn’t write it off.”

It was the description of the dating app’s ‘Year in Swipe 2020’, a sleek, 60-second peek into how Gen Z dated during the year.

As per the ad, here are some top trending moments:

1. Pandemic pickup lines took over Tinder: mentions of ‘quarantine & chill’ took off in March, as lockdown woes inspired creative one-liners in the spirit of ‘Let’s be like COVID and catch each other, or Wash your hands so you can hold mine’.

2. Masks became a dating essential: members were ‘Down to mask up 😷 and meet up’, with mask mentions up nearly 2.5x by April 2020 and mentions for 😷 up almost 5x from the beginning of the pandemic.

3. ‘WAP’ brought unapologetic body positivity to Tinder bios: in August, ‘WAP’ by Cardi B quickly became the #1 anthem on Tinder and held through the year, inspiring many to put themselves out there and share their own dance moves.

4. Support for causes held strong: 2019 had ‘environment’ as a top trending word in bios. Come 2020, the pandemic did not put a damper on the Tinder community’s support for it and climate change. Mentions of climate change more than doubled in 2020 from 2019, signalling how members take shared values seriously while matching.

5. We found hope in shared experiences: for the first time, everyone went through the same thing together. They found solace in shared activities. This reflected on Tinder with Dalgona Coffee, Bored in the House, and Banana bread finding themselves in members’ bios, reflective of global quarantine trends.

6. We were left in a cold mess: as India collectively cried while watching ‘Kasoor’, Tinder members took to their profiles to include the song in their bios…

7. Gamers overpowered in 2020: OP saw a significant increase in bio mentions, up 3x from 2019. Gaming was popular as a theme on Tinder profiles in 2020 with mentions of Ludo also rising significantly early in the year.

8. Vocal for local: ‘Baba Ka Dhaba’ made its 2020 debut on social media and on Tinder member’s bios. We stan this, and also had something to say about it. Click here.

9. Solving the ‘Rasode Main Kaun Tha’ 2020 mystery: while some people used the meme to promote the nutritional value of chickpeas, Tinder members asked the question in their bios, even though we know how it ended. Special shout out to Tinder member Rashi, who took full accountability for what she did with the cooker. We hope Kokilaben is proud.

The dating app recently celebrated its members who didn’t let the pandemic define what dating, flirting and social discovery means to them.