From nostalgia to digital sleuthing: Here’s the latest rulebook for online dating

Those were the days of mere online dating issues such as looks vs personality or dog lover vs cat lover. India’s fast emerging online dating site QuackQuack conducted a survey that indicates a new age of cyber courtship where there are more complex and hopefully more intelligent strategies. Say goodbye to generic bios and shallow questions; daters are now adopting ‘weaponised nostalgia’ tongue-in-cheek self-deprecation and even a bit of cyber sleuthing.

Anti-bio, detective mode and nostalgia bait and more new trends silently taking over the old ones

The research surveyed 7,635 active users between the ages of 18 and 35 in Tier 1, 2 and 3 cities of India revealing a huge change in the way individuals look for meaningful relationships.

One of the most evident trends is ‘nostalgia baiting’. Approximately 19 percent of daters specifically Gen Z are actively leveraging throwbacks to bygone eras to make their profiles more appealing. Consider old-school pics Y2K style nods or shared nostalgia about the early 2000s. This is a psychological sweet spot building a sense of familiarity right away and serving as a strong icebreaker.

The other upcoming method is the ’anti-bio’. Sick of enforced optimism, more than 35 percent of daters are embracing ironic self-mockery in their profiles. This unpretentious and open honesty method seeks to appeal to individuals who enjoy genuineness and can accept flaw.

Interestingly, much of younger dater’s 18-28 are deliberately ‘underselling’ themselves. This strategy enables the individual to be more authentic without the stress of continually seeking to impress prospective partners or keep up with what they do.

Lastly ‘detective mode’ is fully operational. A substantial number of Gen Z daters confess to an initial check of prospective matches’ social and professional profiles before even sending a first message. It appears the new online dating rulebook is all about digging a little deeper being a little more honest and maybe a little more thoughtful in the quest for a compatible connection.

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