Celebrating World Forgiveness Day on July 7, dating app QuackQuack exposed the dynamics of digital breakups, or ‘unmatches’ as they are commonly known. A recent survey among 7,685 active daters highlighted an interesting trend: not all breaks are forever with approximately three in every seven daters opting to contact past ex-matches to say sorry, find closure or even reboot a connection.
The survey, conducted among 20-35 year old people from Tier 1, 2 and 3 cities from diverse professional backgrounds, points towards a matured environment for online dating.
A surprising revelation shows that 19 percent of Tier 1 and 2 city daters confessed to having contacted ex-matches whom they had ghosted before. This action, they said, was motivated by a combination of guilt and self-improvement. Most in this cohort, who were mostly under 22 when they ghosted, mentioned a lack of emotional maturity as their reasoning for their previous behavior. This indicates that although ghosting is never the best choice, it can be an offshoot of immaturity instead of ill will.
The survey also confirmed a general reconnection timeline. More than 41 percent of daters between the ages of 25 and 35 said it takes six months to a year before calling again. Fewer than 16 percent of male daters reconnected in three to five months, underscoring that such gestures were thoughtful and not spontaneous.
Interestingly enough, Gen Z daters are more likely to apologise without romantic expectations, while millennials tend to have the expectation of a renewed romance. A whopping 18 percent of millennials who apologised went on to date again, with 12 percent having the second attempt prove successful.
Lastly, the survey indicated miscommunication and poor timing as common causes of missed connections. Twenty-three percent of women and 16 percent of men thought their matches failed because of these factors. When reunited, more than 31 percent realised the ideal match could have been lost with too much thought or poor timing. This World Forgiveness Day, the statistics are telling of daters becoming more open to looking back, forgiving and even rekindling old online romances.
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