{"id":160,"date":"2024-05-06T12:51:24","date_gmt":"2024-05-06T12:51:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pre-dating.com\/singles-magazine\/?p=160"},"modified":"2025-04-15T17:14:30","modified_gmt":"2025-04-15T17:14:30","slug":"pre-dating-featured-on-axios-more-d-c-singles-are-ditching-dating-apps-for-in-person-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pre-dating.com\/singles-magazine\/pre-dating-featured-on-axios-more-d-c-singles-are-ditching-dating-apps-for-in-person-events\/","title":{"rendered":"Pre-Dating featured on AXIOS: More D.C. singles are ditching dating apps for in-person events"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/authors\/mmontgomery\">Mimi Montgomery<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/washington-dc\/2024\/05\/06\/dating-apps-burnout-singles-events\">https:\/\/www.<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/washington-dc\/2024\/05\/06\/dating-apps-burnout-singles-events\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">axios<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/washington-dc\/2024\/05\/06\/dating-apps-burnout-singles-events\">.com<\/a> | May 6, 2024<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"940\" height=\"370\" src=\"https:\/\/www.pre-dating.com\/singles-magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/speed-dating-pre-dating-company-axios.jpg\" alt=\"Pre-Dating featured in AXIOS article on in-person events\" class=\"wp-image-167\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.pre-dating.com\/singles-magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/speed-dating-pre-dating-company-axios.jpg 940w, https:\/\/www.pre-dating.com\/singles-magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/speed-dating-pre-dating-company-axios-300x118.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.pre-dating.com\/singles-magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/speed-dating-pre-dating-company-axios-768x302.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 940px) 100vw, 940px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Illustration: Maura Losch\/Axios<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Single Washingtonians experiencing&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2022\/08\/31\/well\/mind\/burnout-online-dating-apps.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dating app burnout<\/a>&nbsp;are turning to a radical idea: actually meeting people \u2026 in person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The big picture:&nbsp;<\/strong>Singles are increasingly swapping virtual for IRL connections as a way out of what many see as a bleak dating app landscape and to feel less socially isolated post-pandemic, users tell Axios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>State of date:&nbsp;<\/strong>Meeting live means relief from the apps&#8217; endless messaging, flakiness, and ghosting, say users \u2014 not to mention possible harassment or&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/match-group-ceo-romance-scams-victims-lawsuit-2024-4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">scams<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Plus, many platforms require&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.bustle.com\/wellness\/dating-apps-have-gotten-worse-hinge-tinder-bumble-gen-z-millennials\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">subscriptions<\/a>&nbsp;for extra swipes, profile boosts, or the chance to interact with popular profiles \u2014 a move that &#8220;gatekeeps the hot people,&#8221; one app user told Bustle.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What they&#8217;re saying:&nbsp;<\/strong>&#8220;People are craving more authentic human interaction instead of just swiping on the apps all day,&#8221; says Alexandria resident Sarah Goldenberg, who launched a local event series called&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/singlesonsocials_dc\/?hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Singles on Socials D.C<\/a>., where single people gather at local bars.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>She was inspired by her own frustrations with the constant screen time required of online dating. &#8220;[It] felt in some ways like a second job.&#8221;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Between September when she launched the series, and March, Goldenberg saw an over 240% increase in the number of attendees.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>&#8220;The apps are rough,&#8221;<\/strong>&nbsp;says Kiran Suryadevara, who is single in D.C. and thinks the quality of people she meets on the apps has gone down. &#8220;I feel like the top of the funnel is broken.&#8221;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Or, as TikToker&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@superkeara\/video\/7291838261268450602\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Keara Sullivan<\/a>&nbsp;put it, if you met your partner on an app two years ago, &#8220;You got the last seat on the last lifeboat to leave the sinking Titanic.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>By the numbers:&nbsp;<\/strong>46% of&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2023\/02\/02\/key-findings-about-online-dating-in-the-u-s\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">dating app users<\/a>&nbsp;say their experiences have been very or somewhat negative, found a Pew Research Center report last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Meanwhile,&nbsp;<\/strong>the number of Eventbrite dating and singles events in the D.C. area grew 43% from 2022 to 2023, the company tells Axios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The group&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pre-dating.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Pre-Dating<\/a>, which hosts speed dating events nationally, has seen a 41% increase in the number of participants at its D.C. events since 2019, says owner Linda de Lucca.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The intrigue:&nbsp;<\/strong>Even the dating apps themselves are reading the room and have offered in-person options, like&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/bumble.events\/bumbleirlthemenew\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Bumble IRL<\/a>, Match&#8217;s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/help.match.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/18136037259163-72-Hours-Explained\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">72 Hours<\/a>, and Tinder&#8217;s&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.tinderpressroom.com\/2023-05-23-TINDER-CREATES-SINGLE-SUMMER-SERIES-FOR-UNCUFFING-SEASON\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Single Summer Series<\/a>, while&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/90992376\/hinge-is-spending-1-million-to-get-people-meeting-irl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Hinge<\/a>&nbsp;last year launched a $1 million social impact fund to fight Gen Z loneliness via real-life connections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This comes as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/local\/austin\/2024\/02\/29\/bumble-to-reset-as-gen-z-ghosts-dating-apps\">Bumble<\/a>&nbsp;announced earlier this year it was slashing its workforce and rebranding as&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.axios.com\/2023\/11\/05\/dating-apps-college-students-tinder-bumble\">younger people<\/a>&nbsp;veer away from apps.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>And&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnbc.com\/2023\/11\/01\/match-group-stock-plunges-after-decline-in-people-paying-for-tinder.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Match Group<\/a>, which owns groups like Tinder, Hinge, and The League, saw shares fall last year as fewer people paid for its platforms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Meanwhile,&nbsp;<\/strong>a group of dating app users brought a lawsuit earlier this year against&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/technology\/2024\/02\/19\/tinder-hinge-dating-app-lawsuit\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Match Group<\/a>, alleging its &#8220;predatory&#8221; platforms are designed so people won&#8217;t find love and will instead remain paying users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/lifestyle\/tinder-other-match-dating-apps-encourage-compulsive-use-lawsuit-claims-2024-02-14\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Match Group<\/a>&nbsp;called the claims &#8220;ridiculous&#8221; and said &#8220;We actively strive to get people on dates every day and off our apps,&#8221; reports Reuters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Yes, but:&nbsp;<\/strong>Despite all the frustration, many people remain committed to the apps: One in ten&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2023\/02\/02\/key-findings-about-online-dating-in-the-u-s\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">partnered adults<\/a>&nbsp;say they met their significant other via a dating site or app, per the Pew report.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>That jumps to one in five when looking at the under-30 crowd.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>And 53%<\/strong>&nbsp;of app users say their&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.pewresearch.org\/short-reads\/2023\/02\/02\/key-findings-about-online-dating-in-the-u-s\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">experience<\/a>&nbsp;has been very or somewhat positive, per Pew.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mimi Montgomery | https:\/\/www.axios.com | May 6, 2024 Single Washingtonians experiencing&nbsp;dating app burnout&nbsp;are turning to a radical idea: actually meeting people \u2026 in person. The big picture:&nbsp;Singles are increasingly swapping virtual for IRL connections as a way out of what many see as a bleak dating app landscape and to feel less socially isolated post-pandemic, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":167,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[20,14],"class_list":["post-160","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-as-seen-in","tag-axios-dating-article","tag-pre-dating-as-seen-in"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pre-dating.com\/singles-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pre-dating.com\/singles-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pre-dating.com\/singles-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pre-dating.com\/singles-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pre-dating.com\/singles-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.pre-dating.com\/singles-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":168,"href":"https:\/\/www.pre-dating.com\/singles-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160\/revisions\/168"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pre-dating.com\/singles-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pre-dating.com\/singles-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pre-dating.com\/singles-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pre-dating.com\/singles-magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}