Facebook Dating Is a Surprise Hit For the Social Network (nytimes.com) 30
An anonymous reader quotes a report from the New York Times: Facebook Dating, which debuted in 2019, has 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."
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."
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
It came out that Facebook made 16 billion (Score:2, Interesting)
Some internal documents leaked where Facebook employees were talking about how they needed the extra cash to fund all the stupid AI bullshit they were doing.
The government should obviously be stepping in and investigating and regulating. It's one thing to get duped into running a scam ad
Re: (Score:2)
It came out that Facebook made 16 billion Off of the most scammiest of scam advertisements on their site
Interesting. Is there a source for this? Do you know which ad it was?
Re: (Score:3)
The Real People of Facebook (Score:2, Insightful)
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:5, Insightful)
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:1)
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:3)
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'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: Dating sites have no business model after su (Score:2)
"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.
Think harder...
You meet your wife on Facebook, you both stay on Facebook, then you start looking for a side piece on Facebook - how do you hide it from your wife who's also on Facebook? Block her? She knows about Facebook dating app - it's how she met you, remember?
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
Re: (Score:2, Insightful)
Definitely true and I have first hand experience with this. About a year after my divorce decided to step back into the pool, tried all the apps and god are they mostly scammy. Lots of microtransactions to 'improve odds' or game the system type of things, they felt pretty gross (looking at the likes of tinder, bumble, hinge, etc). Match and Eharmony at least seemed consistent with just their membership plans, however there is still one underlying thing in that they want you to keep paying
Facebook dating not
Dating apps are likely on their way out (Score:4, Informative)
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 the benefit that neither person is likely to leave the platform if they find a match, which is a fundamental business flaw in every other dating app. FB will likely find a way to completely enshittify it, though. If it becomes big enough, FB will just start adding AI 'people' into there as well, and you'll be back to a basic problem that exists on all of the other apps.
Re: (Score:2)
"Hey, this is a mutual friend that just happens to be of the gender you're attracted to"
It does let you match with mutual friends, but that is just by accident. Mainly it's like all other dating apps that pair you up with anyone.
...match with other eligible singles (Score:3)
Problem is, half of them are NOT singles.
Re: ...match with other eligible singles (Score:3)
Groups (Score:4, Insightful)
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.
Re: (Score:1)
The dude has a type. I think I've only ever seen him with Asian women over the years. One of my friends (also a pasty white board) was the same way, and we'd (inappropriately) refer to his tastes as yellow fever.
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.)
This article is a surprise ad (Score:4, Funny)
Brought to you by Facebook.
It was filled with fake profiles (Score:1)