The popular dating app has released its annual predictions for the six trends that will shape dating in the new year, including open-casting, wanderlove, and love-life balance

Bumble, the women-first dating app, has today released its top six trends that will define dating in the new year. This year brought the return of iconic Y2K couples and fashion, an obsession with pink barbiecore, and the rise of e-boy and e-girl culture influenced by goth, anime, and KPOP– but what about our dating lives?

Bumble’s 2022 trends focused on rediscovery as we emerged from the pandemic with new behaviors such as hard balling, the rise of alcohol-free ‘dry-dating’, and an obsession with making hobbies part of our dates.

Looking ahead, it seems this year has taught us some lessons about what we want and how to best articulate our needs and boundaries. Following 2022’s year of rediscovery, Bumble’s research suggests that next year will be more focused on challenging the status quo and finding more balance in the way we date.

According to the popular dating app, we should be optimistic about dating in 2023 with 70% of people around the world saying they feel positive about the romance that lies ahead, a trend that is highly prevalent in the Philippines, with Filipinos being the most positive (87%) about dating in 2023 as compared to their global counterparts. *

When it comes to dating next year, Bumble suggests Filipinos should expect.

• Open Casting: It’s time to do away with the tall, dark, and handsome requirements as the narrow search for our physical ‘type’ is not serving us. The opposite of type-casting, open casting refers to how more than 1 in 3 (38%) people around the world are now more open to who they consider dating beyond their ‘type’ and more than 1 in 4 (28%) of us are placing less emphasis on dating people that others ‘expect’ them to. What are we looking for? Specifically in the Philippines, the overwhelming majority (77%) are now more focused on emotional maturity than physical requirements.

• Guardrailing: With the return of office culture and busy social schedules, the majority of people are feeling overwhelmed right now. This has forced us all to prioritize our boundaries and more than half (52%) have established more boundaries over the last year. The desire to set intentional boundaries is even more apparent in the Philippines, where close to 3 in 4 (72%) Filipinos surveyed were clearer about their emotional needs and boundaries in 2022, with a similar proportion also indicating that they were more thoughtful and intentional about how they put themselves out there (75%) and have chosen to not overcommit themselves socially (71%).

• Love-life Balance: There has been a shift in how we think about and value work. Gone are the days when job titles and demanding workdays are seen as status symbols, with half of the global respondents prioritizing work/life balance (49%), and more than half (54%) caring more about their partner’s work/life balance than their career status. Over the past year, more than half of people worldwide (52%) are actively creating more space for breaks and rest and more than 1 in 10 (13%) will no longer date someone who has a very demanding job.

• Wanderlove: Looks like we’re after an eat, date, love moment with 1 in 3 (33%) people on Bumble saying that they are now more open to travel and relationships with people who are not in their current city. Post-pandemic WFH flexibility means that 1 in 8 (14%) of us have explored the idea of being a ‘digital nomad’, opening up how we think about who and where we date. Nearly 10% of people in the Philippines find it easier to date in another country.

• Modern Masculinity: Over the last year, 3 in 4 (74%) men worldwide on Bumble say they have examined their behavior more than ever and have a clearer understanding of ‘toxic masculinity’ and what is unacceptable. This is even more pronounced in the Philippines, where more than half of men on Bumble (55%) are actively challenging stereotypes that suggest that men should not show emotions, for fear of appearing weak. 1 in 3 (36%) of men on Bumble in the Philippines now speak more openly about their emotions with their male friends, and the majority (60%) of men agree that breaking gender roles in dating and relationships is beneficial for them, too.

• Ethical sex-ploration: The way that we talk, think about, and have sex is changing. More of us are approaching sex, intimacy, and dating in an open and exploratory way (42%) and sex is no longer taboo, with more than half of us agreeing that it’s important to discuss sexual wants and needs early on (53%). Over the past year, 1 in 5 (20%) have explored their sexuality more and 1 in 8 (14%) of us are considering a non-monogamous relationship. However, this doesn’t mean we’re all having more sex. 1 in 3 (34%) people are not currently having sex and they are ok with that, this is particularly true amongst Gen-Z (39%).

Bumble’s APAC Communications Director, Lucille McCart said: “2022 was a formative year with the return of travel, the drastic increase in our social lives and commitments, and several turbulent global events. However, for some people, this post-pandemic shift left them feeling out of control and exhausted. In response to this, we’ve seen that people on Bumble are now prioritizing identifying and clearly articulating their boundaries. These boundaries can be emotional, like being upfront about what they want or recognizing red and green flags; physical, like ensuring they don’t overcommit themselves; or financial, encouraging candid conversations about previously taboo topics. All of these shifts are changing the ways that people are thinking about what they are looking for, and how they better balance their relationships, work, and life. As we head into the new year, we are encouraged by the many ways single people are challenging the status quo and taking control of defining what a healthy relationship means for them.“

To help you connect in meaningful ways, those within the Bumble app can now recommend a profile to a friend via the ‘Recommend to a Friend’ feature. If you come across a profile on Bumble that’s not right for you but might be for someone you know, you can now directly share a link to their Bumble profile.

Bumble also recently brought excitement back into dating with ‘So, G?’, a campaign that aims to give the local Bumble community unique dating experiences for all interests, paired with their exclusive deals. To help even more Filipinos find their holidates, Bumble hosted its First Singles Mixer on December 1 at Sanctuary, Poblacion, where users experienced the fun and excitement of making new connections outside the app. Guests had a night of entertaining games, snaps for their Bumble profiles, unique cocktails, and many more.