Even though people are staying home they’re still looking for love since the pandemic began dating apps have seen an uptick in use bumble has seen a 26 increase in messages joining me now is the founder and ceo of bumble whitney wolf herd whitney thank you so much for joining us thank you for having me rachel it’s great to be with you so you know whitney coronavirus i mean it’s really changed everything about our lives including dating so you know how are people adapting to dating during a pandemic what we’re seeing is that people are really willing to get to know each other a bit better versus just jumping into these real life experiences with people and so i think this has been a really interesting moment to recalibrate what it means to get to know get to know each other online have you guys noticed any other surprising trends emerge it’s so fascinating to see people build true relationships via video chat we fundamentally believe that this is just the beginning of of getting to know each other through video and through audio that’s been another really interesting finding is that people are really open to doing audio chat and sending audio notes so it’s less about the physical uh physical connection and they’re really starting to learn about each other um emotionally and and personality wise through voice it’s been really fascinating but whitney you know can virtual dating really replace you know in-person connections no it will never be a replacement but it can be a catalyst to uh filling voids of loneliness and isolation during such a confusing moment and so the desire for something more casual has absolutely dissipated and we’ve seen the uptick in people desiring something more substantial are the dating habits and the changes that you’re describing that have been adapted during covet 19. do you think they’re actually here to stay we do we do we fundamentally believe that they are here to stay we’re seeing a lot of people say that had they not had the video calling feature had they not been essentially you know for better or worse forced into having a more substantial digital connection with someone they would have never given that person a chance i think this is going to have long-term impact in a positive way meaning people will spend more time getting to know each other before they just go jump into real life with essentially what it is is a stranger thank you so much for joining us we really appreciate it thank you so much for having me stay well.
