Facebook Dating Is a Surprise Hit For the Social Network (nytimes.com)
- Reference: 0180001232
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/25/11/08/0241231/facebook-dating-is-a-surprise-hit-for-the-social-network
- Source link: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/technology/facebook-dating-surprise-hit.html
> Facebook Dating, which debuted in 2019, has [1]become a surprise hit for the company . It lets people create a dating profile free in the app, where they can swipe and match with other eligible singles. It has more than 21 million daily users, quietly making it one of the most popular online dating services. Hinge, a leading dating app in the United States, has around 15 million users. "Underlying it all is that there are real people on Facebook," Tom Alison, the head of Facebook, said in an interview. "You can see who they are, you can see how you're connected to them, and if you have mutual friends, we make it easy to see where you have mutual interests."
>
> Facebook Dating's popularity is a sign of how Facebook has been reinventing itself. One of the early social networks, its main social feed has become less popular over time than younger apps like Instagram and TikTok. But along with Facebook Marketplace, where people look for deals on things like couches and used cars, Facebook Dating shows how an older social network can remain relevant. "When you look at Gen Z usage on Facebook, they aren't using the social media feed," said Mike Proulx, a research director at Forrester VP, a research firm. "What's bringing them back to the platform is Marketplace, Messenger, Dating."
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/03/technology/facebook-dating-surprise-hit.html
Re: (Score:2)
I'm just not shocked anymore at how fucking stupid people are. Give Meta all your pictures, life experiences, preferences and now, exactly what type of person you'd like to date (and if you're trustworthy in a relationship).
The Real People of Facebook (Score:2)
"Underlying it all is that there are real people on Facebook" says some guy at Facebook.
Oh, thanks , we definitely need to be reminded that the people on Facebook are REAL.
Real might not be the right word. "Convinced" might be closer.
Dating sites have no business model after success (Score:3)
Other dating sites are all about finding that special someone. Once found, they have no ongoing business model, nothing to keep people interested in staying on the site. Quite the opposite: once a match is made and the new couple gets serious, it would actually be seen as cheating, if one of the couple kept using the site.
Facebook has a big advantage here. After a successful match, they can hope that the new couple will transition to their core product, which is meant to connect people long term.
Because of this difference in strategy, Facebook's dating features just might work.
Re: Dating sites have no business model after succ (Score:2)
Sure, you may have a point there.
The point being, instead of dropping off the dating site, since it's Facebook, you really can't leave. So after you hook up, maybe, you'll just keep looking?
Wouldn't be the first time someone did that, huh? You can't have happy satisfied people, that's bad for business.
Re: (Score:2)
People who keep looking after they find someone, are going to do that whatever site they use. The point is, on Bumble, there is nothing to do there BUT hook up. On Facebook, the whole site is geared around maintaining connections long term, not just finding that special someone. This means they can hope to keep you engaged, even after you find your soulmate.
Re: Dating sites have no business model after suc (Score:2)
I take your point. I'm just shit disturbing here, but my point still stands ... what better way to retain customers than appealing to both sides of your humanity simultaneously?
"I'm not looking around, honey. I'm just using Facebook." Perfect cover story. FB double ends the business, it is there for you regardless of your motives. Clever enough trap methinks.
Re: (Score:2)
Good post and deserved to be FP.
My fantasy matchmaking website would have a business model aligned with long-term success in relationships. There would a nontrivial registration fee to establish bona fides and filter out the sock puppets. Additional payments would be based on value received from the website and should be related to income, partly to help confirm claims of personal wealth. But I've never heard of a relationship-oriented website where the website derives income from one-year anniversaries of
Dating apps are likely on their way out (Score:2)
Dating apps have lost a lot of their popularity over the years. Looking at Bumble's stock price for instance, will tell you that no one even cares about 'Women make the first move' anymore. And Tinder and Hinge are well-known dumpster fires, especially for men.
This isn't 'dating' so much as it may be closer to "Hey, this is a mutual friend that just happens to be of the gender you're attracted to", which is closer to how it (at least used to), work in the real world. Can that work? Maybe. There is
...match with other eligible singles (Score:2)
Problem is, half of them are NOT singles.
Re: ...match with other eligible singles (Score:2)
Are you saying I'm not single? Hold on a minute, while I ask.
Groups (Score:2)
Groups are the only reason I use Facebook anymore.
No, I have no desire to see which hyperventilating cause my aunt is re-posting something about today. But all the groups that used to have their own discussion boards on their own blog sites have moved to Facebook.
21 million (Score:1)
If this were a Google service, it would've already been killed due to lack of interest.
(Okay, technically, they would've launched a different product that does almost the same thing, then killed the first one, then renamed the second one, then killed it.)
Data feed (Score:5, Insightful)
> "When you look at Gen Z usage on Facebook, they aren't using the social media feed," said Mike Proulx
That's because the social media feed has become a trash roll of ads and memes. If you want to actually see what your friends are doing, it's not in the social media feed.
Re: Data feed (Score:2)
also it's extra surprising to the android that runs Meta because he can't comprehend why people would prefer to meet face to face instead of in the Metaverse