How Indians are dating, heading into 2024

With 2024 looming over the horizon, people around the world are changing their dating habits, shedding quests for perfection in favour of acceptance of themselves and their partners.

According to dating app Bumble's report on dating trends for 2024, the new year is slated to be "the year of 'self' in dating and relationships" as more and more people look inwards at their values, needs, and wants.

"This personal prioritisation sees singles rejecting the constant strive for perfection, discarding outdated timelines, challenging ‘jobification’, and placing more value on emotional vulnerability, self-acceptance, and shared priorities," Bumble noted in its report, which was based on a sample of 26,849 users around the world, including in India.

How Indians are dating, heading into 2024

Noting that there is an "air of optimism and clarity" about 2024, Bumble reported that nearly 60 per cent of Indian women surveyed are heading into the new year with a clear view of what they want in their romantic lives, while Indian men embrace more modern notions of "open-hearted masculinity".

According to the report, 41 per cent of Indians surveyed placed considerable importance on their potential partners engaging in politics and raising their voice on social issues, with 64 per cent of Indians listing human rights issues as the most important.

Amid a rising global trend of 'self-optimisation', singles are also rebelling against this constant self-improvement: two in three women surveyed globally told Bumble that they were taking active steps to accept themselves as they are and be happy.

Keeping with the trend, in India, 56 per cent of women said they'd only date people who would not try to change them.

Men, meanwhile, have been embracing global conversations around masculinity, with 25 per cent of global respondents reporting actively changing their behaviour, becoming more open and vulnerable.

A snapshot of Bumble's dating trends for 2024.

In India too, men are embracing the same, with 26 per cent reporting an improvement in their mental health due to this new-found opennness and vulnerability. 37 per cent of Indian men also say that the lack of vulnerability in a relationship is a dealbreaker.

More than a third (35 per cent) of Indians surveyed also stated that emotional intimacy was more important to them than sex, while 78 per cent of Indian women said that it was crucial that their partners have an understanding of both emotional and physical intimacy.

Interestingly, a love for sports has also become a factor in dating—"For 35 per cent of single Indians, a shared love of sports has now become a ‘must have’ regardless of if you’re a player or simply a spectator," the report said.

A third of single Indians also said that attending sports events together was important, with this being stronger among Gen Z (33 per cent) than millennials (26 per cent). Further, a whopping 76 per cent of Bumble profiles in India list either cricket or football as an interest.

People are also slowing down with dating, going for quality over quantity and putting mental health first—a third of Indians are actively 'slow-dating', while 42 per cent of Indian women are actively seeking people who value both time and self-care, the report said.

"In 2023, we identified trends on travel romances, setting new boundaries, and dating outside your type. We know that cultural conversations around misogyny, women’s rights, and social issues, that are intertwined with our dating lives, left many exhausted this year. This has impacted the way people want to date - people are feeling more empowered in their sense of self and seeking out people who value what’s important to them, whether it’s social causes, lifestyle choices or even their favourite sports," said Samarpita Samaddar, Bumble's India Communications Director.