Nostalgia bait to Anti-bio: 4 new dating trends that you need to know about in India

Just like relationships even online dating is constantly evolving and it has grown by leaps and bouunds since it first started more than a decade agoThere was a time in online dating when deciding between looks and personality or being a cat person or dog person was the biggest dilemmaGone are those simpler days enter the era of lsquoa little more complicated but a lot better dating experiencersquo A new set of rules is taking the world of virtual dating by stormA survey by Indian dating app QuackQuack shows that it is drastically reshaping the way people attract the right matchThe study conducted among 7635 active users between 18 and 35 from Tier 1 2 and 3 cities showed that weaponised nostalgia ironic selfloathing in bios and chats and digital sleuthing are becoming integral parts of virtual dating Participants were selected from various educational and professional fields including IT healthcare and medicine art and architecture sales and marketing and more for a comprehensive understanding of the latest trendsRavi Mittal founder and CEO of the app said ldquoThe old rules are slowly being replaced by new ones and it shows more emotional intelligence in dating more awareness while finding a partner leaving as little as possible to faterdquoNostalgia baitGrainy photos old video cam recordings and all things that remind people of simpler times are being used to make dating profiles more attractive 19 per cent of daters from Tier 1 and 2 cities revealed that Nostalgia Baiting is becoming increasingly popular especially among GenZ where they use the psychological sweet spot between 15 and 25 years to attract their matchrsquos attention A quick mention of the early 2000s a display image in the Y2K era fashion or adding a collective shared memory of all in the bio is enough to create an emotional bridge making the person seem relatable and almost familiar 2 in 5 daters say it works because shared memories make you feel like you know the person already even before the first chat and importantly it serves as the perfect ice breaker Ajay from Mangaluru said ldquoWho wouldnrsquot want to bond over the shared love for everyonersquos favourite cartoon as a kid It brings so much joy just thinking about how happy we were and I feel somewhere we associate that happiness with the new matchrdquoThe antibio techniqueDaters between 25 and 35 years of age said they are tired of trying to be cool and it is no longer working on people A little ironic selfroasting seems to be the new trend Itrsquos raw unfiltered and unapologetically awkward and over 35 per cent of men and women say that the vulnerability of antibio not only helps you find the one who will tolerate you for who you are but also reportedly makes users feel more connected Rishi a 26yearold writer said ldquoPositivity fatigue is real most of us are done being overly positive and perfect So what if I find joy in selfdeprecating jokes Thatrsquos who I am I want to show my flawed self the guy who has many issues and even more insecurities I am human not a brandrdquoAre people underselling themselvesThere was a time when everyone wanted to list all their achievements in an attempt to impress people But enter Undersell of the Year 4 in 9 daters between 18 and 28 are intentionally underselling themselves to find someone who can love them at their not worst but not best either 21 per cent of women in their 30s say this technique also allows people to be their real selves without trying to match their potential partners accomplishmentsDetective mode activatedA little bit of stalking is due diligence says 1758 GenZ daters from metros and suburbs The days of asking So what do you do are long gone 47 per cent of daters already scan their potential matchs social media profiles and professional ones too even before sending the first Hi Alisha 24 commented Call it detective mode or just a coping mechanism of all the dhokas we collectively got this careful sleuthing works I dont want to use up my time on someone who doesnt align with my professional or educational preferences So I go ahead and check it beforehand