Interest in online relationships grow as lockdown continues in city: Study

Bumble and other social networking and dating applications saw a surge in the number of users after the virus broke out and the world went into a shutdown. The study revealed that 28 per cent more of single Indians have shown interest in building platonic relationships and friendships online after the pandemic, with Chennai seeing about 32 per cent more people being interested in the application.

This surge in users indicates that meeting people online has been more normalised than ever before. Bumble BFF is the friend-finding mode within the Bumble app, where one can build a profile to connect with potential friends nearby. During the first three months of 2021, the average time spent on Bumble BFF globally grew by 44 per cent for women and 83 per cent for men.

“At Bumble, we believe firmly that social connection plays a vital role in the human experience and strong relationships are key to a happy and healthy life. In the current climate, it is easy to feel isolated and as we get older, social environments that are set up to help us make friends easily, such as school or colleges, fall away and it can feel harder to meet new people or make new friends,” said Samarpita Samaddar, communications director, Bumble India.

She added that as per our recent study, more people in India are now opening up to finding friends virtually and Bumble BFF is a great way to meet like-minded people, who are all there with a shared purpose of wanting to connect.