Declutter Your Dating Life: What to Keep and What to Toss
The post Declutter Your Dating Life: What to Keep and What to Toss appeared first on The Latest Catch.
Celebrating OkCupid Success Stories
What’s better to celebrate than love? Now that springtime has officially arrived, love is in the air — and we’re feeling particularly nostalgic over all of the amazing couples who have found their love on OkCupid. Here are some of their stories.
Both of us lived in the Bay Area for years but had no idea each other existed until OkCupid brought us together in the sunny summer of ’16. We knew after the first date when we both had butterflies and barely touched our lunches that we were each other’s someone special. Love can spring from anywhere given the chance and we will always be grateful to OkCupid for helping give us our chance and being the start to our strong and beautiful relationship.
We met on OkCupid way back in 2013. Online dating can be intimidating but connecting on OKC was simple. We got to see and read a little about each other, message back and forth, and eventually meet in person! That one message was life changing. It led us to start dating, move in together, get married, and we just welcomed our first child in 2021! I’m so thankful that OKC (and Michelle’s bravery) led me to my adventure partner for life.
The wildest part is that, when we met, it was her first night on the app! We had a lot in common, from a love of burgers to Todd Rundgren, and both of us rearranged our schedules to meet up as soon as we possibly could. That was in 2016. Almost 6 years later, we are married, we have two cats, a niece and a nephew. We are each other’s family, and we gained new, amazing extended families as well. We love everything about one another, aside from the times we have to be apart. We’ve built this amazing life together and it all started on OkCupid.
We have been through so much and grew so much together. He has said he loves my selflessness and humor. I love how he takes care of his family and shows so much love. We truly have a great connection! I was so unsure when getting onto OkCupid, but once we connected, it was hard for me to believe. Yet, over 5 years later we are still together and so happy. We are living the dream now in Alaska — fly fishing, hiking and ATV rides. Me, him, our daughter and his family are so close — its amazing and I am very thankful!
Bailey: I love Sam’s sense of humor and his ability to stay calm in any situation, it keeps me grounded and so at ease. He is truly my safe place…on a good day, on a bad day, I immediately knew that was something I never wanted to live without.
Sam: I love Bailey’s bubbly personality and how she can make anyone feel like her friend. Not to mention that she is absolutely beautiful and ridiculously talented 😉
I was excited and nervous to meet him. We were talking for a long time on OkCupid and then texting a lot. I could tell he was shy because it took him a while to ask me out on a date. I was patiently waiting for him to ask me. I usually don’t swipe right first but I felt something special. I was nervous because I’ve had bad dates before but I knew I had to keep trying. When I met him it’s like I knew he was my person. We had so much in common. We watched movies and we wound up having dinner together and talked all night. When he left we texted all night. I knew it was going to be a success! I love his empathy and his love for pets because we have that in common. I love how he will do anything for me to make me happy. I love how he is my best friend and we have the same sense of humor. I love how we say the same things at the same time and finish each others sentences. We are like one person.
Download OkCupid & find your person today!
Celebrating OkCupid Success Stories was originally published in OkCupid Dating Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Save the Date for Your New Favorite Plenty of Fish Live! Show: Dating Unfiltered
The post Save the Date for Your New Favorite Plenty of Fish Live! Show: Dating Unfiltered appeared first on The Latest Catch.
Save the Date for Your New Favorite Plenty of Fish Live! Show: Dating Unfiltered
Climate change is the #1 issue to daters in 2022
In 2022, climate change is the #1 issue daters care about. It has even surpassed world peace. (Seriously. But more on that later.) So for Earth Month, and by popular demand, we’re bringing back our Climate Change Advocate profile badge and stack for singles around the world. And for every person who opts into the badge, we’re donating $1 (up to $20,000) to Earth Day Initiative, a non-profit organization focused on taking action for the planet. Last year, nearly 400,000 OkCupid users added the badge to their profile and this year we expect over half a million! So let’s get into the data on why so many singles are hot for Climate Change Advocates.
Singles across the globe say the environment is the cause that’s most important to them. In fact, they’re about 30% more likely to choose “the environment” over “world peace” and 2x more likely to pick it over “eradicating all diseases from the earth” when asked “Which cause is most important to you?”
Daters have been hot for the planet for a while now, but their focus on it has been increasing with the temperatures. In the past five years, there has been a 368% increase in environmental- and climate change-related terms on users’ profiles, and over the past three years, there’s been a 36% increase in singles saying they’re concerned about climate change (81% today are).
There’s no doubt millennials are particularly passionate about the planet. Not only are they (and their Gen Z counterparts) the most likely to cite the environment as their key cause, but millennial daters on OkCupid are the most likely to think about climate change on a daily basis. In response to the question “How often do you think about climate change?” less than one-third of millennials said “rarely or never.” They’re also the most likely to ditch plastic, with 74% saying they support a plastic bags and straws ban.
Climate change is the #1 issue for daters around the world, but singles in some countries take it even more seriously than others. Take the plastics ban, for example. For the most part, daters where a plastics ban is already in place are the most likely to support one. In 2020, Germany banned plastic straws and most German daters (85%) are supportive of the ban. The UK introduced a similar ban the same year, and UK daters are next in line for most supportive at 83%. French daters, though, are the least likely to support the ban, despite there already being one in place in France since 2021; nonetheless, the majority of French daters (57%) support it.
Regardless of their views towards a ban, French daters are the most concerned about climate change. American, Israeli, and Indonesian daters are tied for the least — but again, the majority of daters in all three countries are concerned (77%).
French daters also take the lead as those who are the most likely to make a conscious effort to shrink their carbon footprint. Indonesian singles are the least.
While millennial and European singles are leading the charge, there’s no doubt that — no matter where you live or how old you are — loving the planet gets you more love. Ninety percent of daters say it’s important their match cares about the planet, and OkCupid users who are concerned about climate change get 37% more likes and 11% more matches than those who are not.
So if you’re a Climate Change Advocate and want your matches to know, add the OkCupid Climate Change Advocate badge to your profile! Simply answer “yes” to the question “Do you want to support the environment by adding a Climate Change Advocate badge to your profile?” Once you have the badge, you will also appear in the Climate Change stack where you can find other singles with the badge. Both will be available until the end of Earth Month.
Download OkCupid & find someone great today!
Climate change is the #1 issue to daters in 2022 was originally published in OkCupid Dating Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
Ever Wanted to Smell Your Date Before Meeting Up? Well, Now You Can
The post Ever Wanted to Smell Your Date Before Meeting Up? Well, Now You Can appeared first on The Latest Catch.
Ever Wanted to Smell Your Date Before Meeting Up? Well, Now You Can
Dating a Single Parent? Here’s How to Set Yourself Up For Success
The post Dating a Single Parent? Here’s How to Set Yourself Up For Success appeared first on The Latest Catch.
Dating a Single Parent? Here’s How to Set Yourself Up For Success
Giving Advice to Your Single Crew: The How, Who, What, and When
The post Giving Advice to Your Single Crew: The How, Who, What, and When appeared first on The Latest Catch.
Giving Advice to Your Single Crew: The How, Who, What, and When
OkCupid Data Shows That Women Are Owning Their Dating Lives More Than Ever
Over the past two years, we’ve seen daters become increasingly assertive. Now more than ever, daters are being clear about what they want and what’s truly important to them. Singles aren’t waiting for a message anymore — they’re making the first move when they see a match they want to meet — and the focus is shifting from “who can support me financially” to “who will support my values?” While we’ve seen this change happen among daters of all genders and orientations around the world, women are leading the charge.
Throughout the pandemic, women have been increasingly more likely to send likes and first messages — and this has remained true in 2022. Women sent 10% more likes this January than they did in December, and they’ve proven that taking the initiative pays off: Contact exchanges for women in January 2022 were at their highest in over a year (increasing 13% since December).
Women have expressed feeling more confident in finding matches and making the first move because they’re being more open and upfront about what they want. In the past five years, there’s been a 600% increase in women’s profiles stating “looking for a feminist” or “feminists only” and a 5% increase in women responding “no” to the OkCupid matching question “Would you date someone who isn’t a feminist?”
While women around the world are increasingly likely to be looking for a match to support their values, female daters have become increasingly less likely to expect (or want) a match to support them financially. In fact, only 10% of women on OkCupid say that money is very important when it comes to a match. Here’s how it stacks up for women by country:
Looking at the two extremes, women in Indonesia are 9x more likely than women in Germany to say that a match’s money is extremely important; but even so, it’s just over one-third of Indonesian women who feel that way.
Instead, women are focused on fighting to close the gender wage gap, with 84% of female daters on OkCupid saying more needs to be done to do so (70% of men agree). See how it breaks down by country:
Women are also keeping track of their own finances so they can depend solely on themselves. In fact, very few women on OkCupid say they do not keep track of their own finances; unlike with the responses to other OkCupid matching questions on money, Indonesian women take the lead here, with only 5% saying they do not keep their budget.
Yet despite female daters’ desire to be financially independent, what’s most important to them — across the globe — is being independent full-stop. Sixty-five percent of women on OkCupid who responded to the matching question “Would you rather have more money or more freedom?” said “freedom” (slightly ahead of 64% of men).
So what does freedom mean? Well, it’s the right to choose what you want — and that comes to who you date, too. After all, over the past two years there’s been a 55% increase in women saying a relationship is more important to them than advancing their career. As a result, women are prioritizing what’s really important to them in a match and what they’re really looking for beyond the surface.
In the past five years there’s been a 5% increase in women responding “extremely honest” to the matching question “Would you rather date someone extremely hot or extremely honest?” For men, on the other hand, there’s been a 3% decrease. Single women are also focused on finding someone they connect with emotionally, with 88% today saying it’s important to establish an emotional connection before a physical one (compared to 78% of men). And in just this past month, there’s been a 5% increase in women seeking a relationship to last for the rest of their lives.
So on this International Women’s Day (and every day!), we at OkCupid are celebrating the women who are taking their dating lives into their own hands. No matter what they’re looking for, women are being more direct, open, and assertive about what they want and how they’re going to get it — and we think that’s pretty amazing.
Download OkCupid & find someone great today!
OkCupid Data Shows That Women Are Owning Their Dating Lives More Than Ever was originally published in OkCupid Dating Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
It’s Okay to Make Friends on Dating Apps. Here’s Why
The post It’s Okay to Make Friends on Dating Apps. Here’s Why appeared first on The Latest Catch.
Join OkCupid in Supporting Small, Black-Owned Businesses
In honor of Black History Month, we’ve created a list of 19 amazing, Black-owned businesses that power love and connection through wares such as chocolates, candles, and more. At OkCupid, we are committed to the future of the Black community — both in dating and beyond — so it is important to us to highlight Black-owned businesses we love. Our rockstar employees helped craft this list of small businesses across the country, and OkCupid is donating $1,000 to each one.
One of the best parts of dating is having a reason to explore. Meeting up with a special someone (or this week’s fling, no judgment here) is the perfect excuse to step out of your comfort zone with a fresh look, a different cocktail spot, or a new signature scent. So pop on your getting ready playlist (we know you have one) and join us in supporting these amazing Black-owned businesses!
These quality crafted candles pay tribute to Black greatness with scents that capture its radiance.
The names of these freelance-inspired candles may even inspire you on date night. Try out Good Night, for example, that’ll get you ready for a cozy night in.
Up your hosting game with one of their cool aprons or snag some of their sweet drinking chocolate.
Show off how well you were paying attention in that message thread by picking a flavor combination that speaks to their palette.
Order fun options like “Mint Condition,” and “Foxy Brown” to cool down your hot date-night in.
Nothing says “I think this could be a thing,” like ordering some wine and doing an at-home wine tasting.
7. Top 3! Games
This musical themed game is the perfect way to turn a game night for two into the 90s R&B moment you so richly deserve.
These aromatic blends smell as heavenly as they taste. Use one to revamp your energy before that post-work hang or to calm your nerves before that third-date hookup.
9. LYS Beauty
Affirm yourself to be the kissable catch we know you are with their natural Speak Love Glossy Lip Treatment Oil. As an added bonus you can get it via Sephora’s same day delivery app without interrupting your skin care routine.
10. Grounded Plants
If there’s anything more sexy than taking the plunge into plant parenthood, we haven’t found it yet.
Infuse some good vibes into your first date with these carefully copper-wrapped crystals.
12. Stuzo
Their adorably bold overalls prove what we have always known — style has no gender.
13. The Jules Shop
This site has everything from the perfect lounge set for that midday meetup to that sexy date night dress you’ve been searching for.
14. Love Iguehi
Their cute clutches and dazzling dusters are the perfect way to elevate your look in a dash.
A quality leather trinket is a great way to gift someone you just started seeing. It says “I was thinking about you…but not in a creepy way.”
16. Aya Paper Co
You won’t regret sending one of their astrology-themed cards to your perfect match.
17. Soultanicals
Nothing puts your confidence on ten like knowing your curls are flourishing.
Their oil-based perfumes will keep you smelling like a snack for the hrs & hrs when you finally find the person who makes you stop hating that song.
19. Jaibutters
Everyone deserves to have their chance at love and affection…and smooth, buttery skin.
Download OkCupid & find someone great today!
Join OkCupid in Supporting Small, Black-Owned Businesses was originally published in OkCupid Dating Blog on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
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