The release of new UK data by the country’s official communications regulator, Ofcom, looks at what people are doing online. This includes dating apps.
Although a range of dating apps (Bumble, Tinder, Hinge, etc) are used across the population and among younger generations, one particular one leaps out when it comes to those over 54 years old.
For the older demographic, Grindr surges ahead of Tinder, Plenty Of Fish and Match.com.
Users also spend more time on the app than the next three dating apps combined. During the month of May 2023, for instance, users spent on average 6 hours and 49 minutes scrolling and tapping. This compared to one hour and 13 minutes on Tinder.
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In terms of reach, Ofcom said a figure equal to 1.9% of the UK population logged on to Grindr. Overall, just over 10% of the adult population used a dating app in 2023, with 5% (or 2.5 million people) on Tinder.
In terms of reach, within the UK, Tinder had the biggest reach, with 899,000 daily average users in May 2023. Next came Hinge and Bumble with 671,000 and 587,000 respectively. However, these numbers begin to fall in older age groups.
Grindr had 374,000 average daily users in May 2023. The next primarily gay app in the top ten was Squirt, with 79,000 daily users in the same month.
There are many reasons why so many over 54s could be on Grindr.
Obviously, there are many more heterosexuals in the world and they have greater opportunities to make new romantic connections in real life. Gay men are far more used to seeking partners via specific queer spaces, whether bars or apps.
“For a large segment of the gay community, there is major interest in older men and daddies.”
Grindr, unlike other dating apps, also gives users a choice of whether to use a photo or not. This is more likely to appeal to those who want discretion.
Metro spoke to a 57-year-old Grind user named Norbert about why he likes the app.
“Grindr has dismantled the conventional boundaries of age,” he said, adding “There’s no room for pretense.
“At my age, every interaction is about finding genuine rapport and Grindr facilitates that with ease.”
Across the entire population, the age group that uses dating apps the most are those aged 25-34. Around one in five of that generation used a dating app in May of this year.
Other notable highlights from the UK report included:
Facebook dropped slightly behind YouTube for the first time as the most visited social media platform in the country.
Around a quarter of internet users aged 16+ (23%) tried Meta’s new service, Threads, at least once in the first two months since its launch in July 2023.
A third of adult internet users (29%) visited online services for pornographic content in May 23. Most were men (73%) and most did so during daytime hours.
More than a fifth of children have a false social media age of 18+ on their online profiles.
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