BBC - Colleen McClain, a Senior Researcher at Pew Research Center, and Murugavel Janakiraman, Founder and CEO of Matrimony.com, were part of a special edition of BBC's global TV business program, Talking Business. The show explored trends in dating and online dating worldwide. While the UK and US are experiencing a shift from digital to in-person dating, the show delved into how this trend is evolving in India.
130 posts categorized "Outlets - BBC"
Dan's the Man: Why Chinese Women Are Looking to ChatGPT for Love
BBC - Dan – which stands for Do Anything Now - is a "jailbreak" version of ChatGPT. It can bypass some of the basic safeguards put in place by its maker, OpenAI, such as not using sexually explicit language. And Dan is becoming popular with some Chinese women who say they are disappointed with their real-world dating experiences. Dan's creator has been identified by some media outlets as an American student, identified only by his first name, Walker. Many Chinese women have been intrigued by Dan. As of 10 June, the hashtag "Dan mode" has been viewed ~40M times on Xiaohongshu alone. Glow – a Shanghai-based app that allows users to create and interact with AI boyfriends has millions of users.
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Neurodiverse Dating App Mattr Launched by Former Date 'Addict'
BBC - Jamie Johnston founded Mattr, a dating app for people with ADHD and autism, after feeling addicted to the stimuli and dopamine from traditional dating apps. Launched a year ago, Mattr has 1,200 active users, mostly in east London. Johnston wanted to create a space where neurodivergent individuals feel comfortable and not judged. The app includes features like sharing neurodiversity details, daily mental health check-ins, limited matches, and verified profiles. A survey showed 94% of neurodivergent respondents felt misunderstood by other dating apps. Users appreciate the app's focus on authenticity and understanding, which helps ease anxiety and fosters genuine connections.
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Lidiane Jones on Overcoming Gender Barriers in Tech as Bumble's CEO
BBC - Lidiane Jones, the CEO of Bumble, stands out in the tech industry not only due to her unique background—being the daughter of a mechanic and a cleaner from São Paulo—but also because she is a woman in a male-dominated field. With over 20 years of experience in software engineering and product management, including leadership roles at Sonos and Slack, Jones has faced numerous challenges related to the lack of female representation in tech. She emphasizes the importance of resilience and leveraging a network of female leaders, including Bumble founder Whitney Wolfe Herd, for support and inspiration. Jones encourages women to believe in themselves and not to waste energy on self-doubt. Bumble faces significant challenges, with its share value declining sharply since its IPO and intense competition. Jones remains focused on overcoming these hurdles to improve Bumble's standing in the industry.
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Grindr Sued for Allegedly Revealing Users' HIV Status
BBC - Grindr is facing a lawsuit in the UK High Court for allegedly sharing sensitive user information, including HIV status, with third parties without consent. The claim involves ~650 claimants who may receive significant damages if successful. Grindr has been accused of using "covert tracking technology" to illegally provide advertisers with highly personal data, such as ethnicity and sexual orientation, primarily before Apr 2018. The company has responded, stating the allegations misrepresent past practices discontinued over four years ago and maintains it takes user privacy seriously. This legal action follows a 2021 GDPR fine by Norwegian authorities and a reprimand by the UK's Information Commissioner's Office for insufficient privacy protections.
by Tom Singleton & Imran Rahman-Jones
See full article at BBC
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Bumble CEO Lidiane Jones Discusses AI's Role in Dating and Empowering Women
BBC - Lidiane Jones, CEO of Bumble, discusses AI's role in dating, highlighting the Deception Detector's 99.5% accuracy in spam identification. Bumble emphasizes authentic connections, with AI features like the Private Detector for image safety. Jones stresses AI's ethical use and transparency. As Bumble nears its 10th anniversary, it focuses on empowering women and healthy relationships. The company's leadership is diverse, with 73% of board members and 50% of the management team being women. Bumble has influenced three U.S. laws against unsolicited lewd photos since 2019. Jones, with over 20 years of technical expertise and former roles at Sonos and Slack, brings a strong technical background to her leadership at Bumble.
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Hundreds Rescued From Love Scam Centre in the Philippines
BBC - Hundreds were rescued from a scam center in the Philippines, where they were forced to pose as single individuals seeking romantic relationships online. The raid freed 658 people, including Filipinos, Chinese, and other foreigners. The center, disguised as an online gambling firm, was part of a larger trend in Southeast Asia where victims are lured into criminal activities like love scams and crypto fraud. The operation was exposed by a Vietnamese escapee who revealed the extent of human trafficking and abuse at the facility.
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Whitney Wolfe Herd: Championing Female Empowerment in the Tech and Dating Industries
BBC - Whitney Wolfe Herd, who recently stepped down as CEO of Bumble, is recognized for her significant impact on the dating scene, particularly in empowering women. In an interview with the BBC before she made her announcement, Ms Wolfe Herd lamented that, as a group of young women who came up in tech in the 2010s, not many are left. "It is disappointing to see just how little women have advanced," she said. However, Bumble will still be led by a woman - Lidiane Jones, the former boss of Slack, will take over as CEO while Ms Wolfe Herd will stay on as executive chair. Whitney actively championed women in business, hosting panel talks and creating networking events. The majority of the company's staff in the early days were women - a rare sight in the tech world.
by Imran Rahman-Jones & Shiona McCallum
See full article at BBC
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China Addresses Declining Marriage and Birth Rates With Government Measures
BBC - China is experiencing a significant decline in marriage and birth rates, with the lowest number of registered marriages since 1986. In response, the Chinese government is actively encouraging young people to marry and have children. Initiatives include financial incentives for marrying younger brides and a mandatory "cooling-off period" for couples seeking divorce, aimed at reducing separations. Additionally, rural authorities are attempting to regulate bride prices to address the challenges single men face in finding partners. Despite these measures, young Chinese, especially women, are increasingly reluctant to conform to traditional expectations, driven by economic concerns and a desire for personal autonomy.
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Traditional Matchmaking Thrives: Willie Daly's Legacy in Ireland's Lisdoonvarna Festival
BBC - The Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival in Ireland has been connecting singles for 170 years, making it Europe's largest singles festival. It takes place each September and attracts a mixture of people. Willie Daly, a third-generation matchmaker, has been instrumental in maintaining this tradition. Throughout his 60-year career, he claims to have matched over 3K couples, focusing on the importance of love in life. Attendees of the festival not only find romantic connections but also form friendships, with many returning annually.
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Coffee Meets Bagel App Faces Extended Outage
BBC - Coffee Meets Bagel (CMB), a dating app boasting ~10M sign-ups globally, experienced a multi-day system outage starting on 27 August, frustrating many users. Some users missed planned dates, with one individual resorting to LinkedIn to reconnect. There's online speculation about the cause, ranging from a ransomware attack to potential data breaches. Amidst the company's assurances of working on the issue, users have criticized the lack of detailed information regarding the outage.
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Muzz Loses Appeal Against Match Group
BBC.COM - The Court of Appeal upheld a June 2022 ruling that the average consumer would have thought Muzmatch - now Muzz - was part of Match Group, which also owns Tinder. Muzz has criticised the ruling, calling the legal action "deeply worrying for other start-ups in the dating sector". Muzz launched in the UK in 2015 as Muzmatch, a dating app specifically for Muslims. Match Group has attempted to purchase the business on four separate occasions, including making an offer of £28M ($35M), which was turned down.
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Egyptian Police Hunt LGBT People on Dating Apps
BBC - In Egypt, homosexuality is highly stigmatized, and there have long been allegations that police are hunting LGBT people online. There is no explicit law against homosexuality in Egypt, but BBC investigation has found that the crime of "debauchery" - a sex work law - is used to criminalize the LGBT community. It is extremely difficult for LGBT people to openly meet potential dates in public in Egypt, so dating apps are a popular way to do that. But just using the apps can be grounds for arrest based on the incitement of debauchery or public morality laws in Egypt.
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The Five Biggest Lessons of the Year
BBC - In 2022, more folks openly moved away from both gender and attraction binaries. Online daters got increasingly vocal about exploring different types of relationships, from solo polyamory to platonic life partnerships. Gen Z has particularly embraced the grey area of dating by purposefully entering into 'situationships'. Overall, openness towards many kinds of non-traditional relationships has gained visibility, too. Ethical non-monogamy has been all over TikTok, often in the form of polyamorous relationships. For single people, navigating dating apps has still been hard. It's undeniable that dating apps have become the primary way for younger daters to meet, with thousands of online dating sites in existence and 48% of 18 to 29-year-olds in the US using them.
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Why Single People Smell Different
BBC - There is a wealth of psychological and biological information stored in our scent, but for some reason we choose to ignore it. Body odour can reveal details about our health, and the presence of diseases (cholera smells sweet, acute diabetes like rotten apples). We might have a preference for certain smells, and there might be a genetic reason for that, but we don't act upon smells when choosing who we marry. Couples who had high HLA-dissimilarity had the highest levels of sexual satisfaction and the highest levels of desire to have children. The link between BO preference and genes spurred a fashion for T-shirt speed-dating and even "mail odour" services. But it would appear we do not make choices based on BO preference.
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