10 dating trends from Tinder’s Year in Swipe 2022

With 2022 drawing to a close, dating app Tinder has compiled the most popular dating trends of the year, including new relationship labels and stances on social issues, sober dating trends and new emojis in chats.

Tinder’s Year in Swipe found that social activities including dating, travel and live events have made a recovery, and millions of young adults who started their dating lives in lockdown showed they were ready to mingle face-to-face and were dating on their terms.

Here were the top 10 trends that Tinder has identified for 2022.

More young singles opted for a high-quality plan where everyone was on the same page. More than a hookup, but not quite a traditional relationship, the  casual yet clearly defined relationship, or “situationship”, had risen in popularity in 2022.

Tinder saw a 49 per cent increase in members adding the new relationship intention to their profiles and over one in 10 young singles saying they preferred situationships as a way to develop a relationship with less pressure.

In Singapore, 50 per cent of young adult dating app users surveyed also said they were in the mood for “casual dating”.

Tinder mentioned that 61 per cent of Singaporean daters felt “hopeful”, and 56 per cent feeling “excited” of their dating future.

Some popular emojis on Tinder include the star and plane emoji, signalling that daters were ready to look on the bright side in dating and explore connections outside of their home country.

Tinder found that 64 per cent of young adult Singaporean singles cited simple hangouts such as “taking a walk” and “grabbing coffee” as some of their favourite first date activities this year, suggesting that singles are meeting for more than just dinner and drinks.

More singles were opting for less traditional and authentic ways to get to know one another. Other creative activities including camping, barbeques, trying new things and street food all made it into the top 10 trending interests on Tinder.

Alcohol-free dates have become a way for singles to be more authentic on dates and challenge traditional dating norms, Tinder said. Over 25 per cent of young singles surveyed  on Tinder said they drank less on dates compared to in 2021.

When describing drinking habits, 72 per cent of members said on their Tinder profiles that they do not drink or drink occasionally. The beer and wine emojis have each decreased 40 per cent and 25 per cent respectively on Tinder profiles as well.

Tinder identified that a sense of humour was what members looked for most when reading a potential matches profile, and 73 per cent of young singles surveyed across all genders said they were looking for someone who is clear about what they want and has good hygiene.

When asked what the most important characteristics are in a potential date, young singles prioritised value-based qualities, including loyalty, respect and open-mindedness.

Similarly, Singaporean singles were looking for matches who “they can trust and confide in”, “are open minded and accepting” and “can make them laugh”.

Tinder mentioned that 75 per cent of singles were looking for a match who is respectful or invested in social issues.

Activism and voter rights interests increased by 84 per cent and 37 per cent respectively in profiles in 2022. In Singapore, 67 per cent of young adult singles named “sharing the same values” and 45 per cent named “fighting for what they believe in” as some of the most important qualities they look for in matches.

Tinder found that the fastest growing interests on the app were blasts from the past including “90’s kid”, “anime” and “sneakers”. Kate Bush’s Running Up That Hill has also made a comeback and was in the top 10 Spotify Anthems noted on Tinder profiles. 

Tinder’s modern take on the traditional blind date was also launched. The feature in the app paired members before allowing them to view each other’s profile and was used 200,000 times a day on average, mimicking the authenticity of a pre-smartphone world.

Toxic relationships are not new, but Tinder found that all the tips and psychoanalysis on social media show that young singles are more aware of the good, the bad and the ugly when it comes to dating.

When dating, 58 per cent of young singles also said they were confident that they could identify a green or red flag.

With fewer travel restrictions in 2022, Tinder found that 18-25 year olds have “passported” an average of nine times a month.

When finding their match virtually, Singaporean daters tended to look for partners from cities Kuala Lumpur, Bangkok and Seoul as their top three Passport destinations.

Star signs were behind smoking preferences, pets and diet in terms of popularity in bio descriptors, Tinder mentioned. 

Leos, Scorpios and Cancers were the signs most likely to include their sign in their bios, and all the star signs were most likely to match with the exact same zodiac sign.

Tinder also identified the top 10 interests that took off in 2022 as sneakers, sushi, 90s kid, anime, camping, barbeque, trying new things and street food.

The most popular music on Singaporean’s bios were Heat Waves by Glass Animals, As It Was by Harry Styles and Glimpse of Us by Joji.

Meanwhile, the most popular TV series mentioned on Tinder bios were Single’s Inferno, Euphoria and Attack on Titan.

Tinder has mentioned that when dating virtually, 54 per cent of young singles in Singapore enjoy sharing playlists to listen to the same music, while 71 per cent enjoy watching series together.