Match Group CEO Highlights Benefits of Online Dating
Bernard Kim, the CEO of Match Group, has written a new column which highlights the benefits of online dating. Despite dating apps having a negative reputation online, he explains why they play a vital role in the future of romantic relationships.
The benefits of online dating
Despite what you may hear on TikTok, dating has always involved bad dates and incompatible matches, Kim shared. While Gen Z are sharing their negative dating experiences online, the many successes that arise from dating apps are going under the radar.
In a new piece of commentary for Fortune, Bernard Kim points out that dating was much more difficult before online dating. While society may romanticise ‘meet-cutes’ or organic IRL encounters, dating before dating apps had its own challenges, he highlights.
When it comes to online dating, Kim explains that dating apps are motivated to get people connected. Unlike other platforms which rely on ad revenue and maximum time spent on the app, dating apps are focused on getting users on dates and in relationships ASAP.
“The ideal scenario for a Match Group company is that users meet their partner on one of our dating apps, delete the app, and then tell all their friends about it”, he shares.
Looking at the wider context, Match Group has previously faced accusations that it encourages compulsive use of its platforms. However, it is the world’s largest dating app business, seeing over 750 million downloads across all its apps and creating millions of matches.
LGBTQ+ and Diversity
Dating apps can play an especially important role for LGBTQ+ daters, Kim says. The platforms can act as a safe space for singles to come out for the first time, providing an opportunity for them to be their authentic selves when it may not be possible in real life.
Furthermore, as new generations increasingly identify as LGBTQ+ themselves, dating apps have an important role as “remaining relevant for a new generation”, he adds.
Unlike being matched by your parents or friends, online dating also allows singles to meet people who are outside their usual social circle. Kim highlights that studies show that online dating helps to create more interracial, interreligious, and diverse relationships.
Conclusion
Kim ends his column by stating that “the idea that online dating is ruining the dating experience or has somehow been so commodified that it can’t be saved is silly”.
While highlighting there is still more work for dating apps to do, he points out that they “far from being the obsolete platform they’re sometimes portrayed to be”.
