How did Generation Z flirt online in 2023? At the end of the year, Tinder has just revealed its Year in Swipe, its barometer of the main flirting trends among 18-25 year olds, observed on the application throughout the year. Overall, singles were “less concerned with the progress of their relationship than with the opportunity to live memorable and authentic experiences”, indicates the very popular online dating application, adding that “the year has been marked by the prevalence of positivity, optimism and personal development through creating connections with others.”
In 2023, singles have fully adopted “main character energy” (“being the hero or heroine of your own life”). “They have abandoned the pressure of chasing eternal happiness and prefer to enjoy the process of meeting new people to try new experiences and build memories that nourish their personal stories,” notes the dating app.
Meetings “without waiting” and “for self-discovery”
The use of dating as a source of personal fulfillment has thus given rise to the main trends of the year in terms of dating: “No expectations” for singles who are less concerned about the outcome of a relationship than about pleasure to get to know a new person and “For the scenario of your own life” for meetings focused more on the journey and self-discovery than the destination.
“It’s exciting to see that, according to Tinder data, 69% of Gen Z wants to challenge conventional norms when it comes to dating and relationships. This year in particular marked a major change: the journey is more important than the result. These singles want to explore all the possibilities of meeting new people, freeing themselves from traditional expectations, to write their own story,” explains Melissa Hobley, Chief Marketing Officer at Tinder.
“Girl Power” celebrated by the new generation
“Girl Power” exploded worldwide in 2023 and inevitably ended up on Tinder. The songs that have gone viral on the dating app are all the work of powerhouse female stars. Taylor Swift was crowned the best Spotify artist on Tinder, the song flowers by Miley Cyrus was the fourth most added to profiles, and Rihanna’s fans supported her following her Super Bowl halftime performance, with a 52% spike in adding her songs to their profiles. And for the holidays, users turned to Mariah Carey, whose song All I Want For Christmas experiences an average increase of 365% on profiles at the end of each year.
Another novelty to note this year is the “Delulu” trend, an abbreviation from “delusional” in English which could be translated as “delirious”. It is a term used for a passionate or exciting person. Mentions of “Delulu” began appearing in Tinder bios in February 2023 and peaked in September, increasing 58 times with bio examples such as “If you’re delulu, I’m your solulu”, “Grand , brown and delulu”, or even “Transform my delulu into trululu”…
Finally, among the most used emojis, we find the “arrow pointing ‘on'” symbol used by singles to let their potential matches know that they are ready for adventure”, and the “Yerba” emoji Maté” which is both a healthy drink and a substitute for alcoholic alternatives, used to convey the message “Spill the tea!” ” (” Tell me everything “).