FINANCIAL TIMES – Birth rates are falling rapidly across the world, with fertility now below the replacement rate of 2.1 children per woman in more than two-thirds of countries. In 66 countries, the average is now closer to one child per woman than two. In some countries, the most common number of children per woman is zero. The trend is no longer limited to wealthy nations. In 2023, Mexico’s birth rate fell below that of the US for the first time, followed by countries including Brazil, Iran, Tunisia, and Sri Lanka. South Korea, one of the world’s lowest-fertility countries, recorded ~230K births in 2023, far below the UN forecast of 350K. Researchers say the biggest shift is that fewer people are forming couples at all, rather than couples simply having fewer children. Housing costs remain a major barrier in countries like the US and UK. But studies increasingly point to smartphones and social media after birth rates dropped sharply following widespread mobile internet adoption. Researchers argue that reduced in-person socialising, rising isolation, and changing relationship dynamics are now major drivers of global demographic decline.
Mark Brooks: I’m seeing quite a few new dating and social connection startups that are quite promising. The need for human connection has never been greater. I think people recognize this. Consequently, I’ve joined the team at Fortuite, which is a group dedicated to human connection infrastructure and innovation. We’ll be helping them with our services from CourtlandBrooks.com.
BBC – Dating app burnout is increasingly being compared to workplace burnout, with users reporting emotional exhaustion, frustration, and mental fatigue from endless swiping and constant engagement. Research covering 17 years of studies and ~26K people found that dating app users reported higher levels of anxiety, loneliness, and psychological distress than non-users. The report also noted that many users now see dating apps as something to manage carefully rather than use constantly. Experts suggested limiting app time, avoiding making apps the only way to meet people, taking breaks when needed, and balancing online dating with offline social activities and community events.
WIRED – BLK has launched a promotion offering $500 gas gift cards to users as rising living costs continue to affect dating habits in the US. The campaign comes as studies show the average cost of dating increased by 12.5% in 2026, while 86% of US singles say they have paused dating because of financial pressure.
HUBPEOPLE – HubPeople has launched Hubbi 3.0, the latest version of its AI-powered brand-building toolkit for dating and social platforms. The update introduces agentic AI support for Claude and ChatGPT, persistent cross-session workflows, and mass site uploads of up to 200MB. The platform is also focused on structured content designed for AEO, SEO, and PPC, with built-in schema markup aimed at improving visibility across AI search tools, Google search, and advertising systems. Hubbi 3.0 can automatically pull live brand data, reviews, and community content into generated pages, while also auditing and upgrading older sites built on previous versions of the system.
PSYPOST – A new study published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships found that having more dating options may actually increase commitment and dating motivation rather than reduce it. In two experiments, participants who selected matches from 31 profiles showed greater interest in pursuing relationships than those choosing from only six profiles. Researchers said the larger pool helped users feel they had found more compatible matches, challenging the common theory that dating apps create “choice overload” and make people less willing to commit.
WIRED – New gay dating apps are entering the market with a stronger focus on privacy, niche communities, and alternative ownership models. MeetMarket, launched in March, uses a decentralised system where user data is stored on devices rather than company servers. The platform reached ~12K sign-ups within 48 hours and 60K users overall, with memberships priced at €12 per month. Meanwhile, Toronto-based developer Justin Finnegan launched Chunkr, a community-focused app aimed at the bear community, while also developing a second platform called Rush. Another app, Streakr, launched recently for both gay and straight daters.
YAHOO! CREATORS – Dateability, a dating app created for people with disabilities and chronic illnesses, has expanded tenfold across three continents over the past year and recently celebrated its first wedding between two users who met on the platform. The app was founded by sisters Jacqueline and Alexa Child after Jacqueline experienced discrimination and rejection on mainstream dating apps. Dateability removes the need for users to disclose disabilities later in conversations by building the platform specifically around the disabled and chronically ill community. The founders said the app now serves hundreds of thousands of users, with ~7-10% identifying as non-disabled.
NDTV – Jasveer Singh, CEO of Knot Dating, sparked debate after questioning whether India’s low divorce rates should automatically be viewed as a sign of healthy relationships. In a viral social media post, Singh argued that many unhappy marriages continue because of social pressure, stigma around divorce and expectations to “adjust” despite emotional exhaustion.
NASHA NIVA – A new study found that modern AI models can now convincingly imitate human conversation, often better than real people. In a Turing-style test, participants identified AI as human 73% of the time when the chatbot was given a realistic online persona using slang and casual conversation styles. Researchers found that people relied mostly on intuition, humour and emotional tone rather than logic or factual tests to judge authenticity. Even in longer 15-minute conversations, newer AI models still passed as human in most cases.
