To fix that, a number of startups have launched niche dating apps—some confusing, others completely predictable—designed to meet unique needs. , where many applications are built on the promise of AI. Volarcreated by Snap's former product manager, uses a chatbot to message back and forth with potential daters on your behalf. There are also Rizz, irisAnd You liveall of which leverage AI to find your soulmate by helping users make first impressions and awkward conversations. For singles interested in other pioneering forms of companionship, ones that remove humans from the equation entirely, there are apps like EVA YOU And moonwho plays your AI girlfriend.
It's still too early to tell how effective any AI-powered app will be in reducing the likelihood of people being haunted, but a recent report from Hopelab found that 40% of young people rely on chatbots for constant conversation. The report concludes that the future of dating promises to be more exciting and stranger than ever.
However, the fatigue of swiping right remains a major concern for singles across all demographics. During wild dates, app fatigue can be contagious. No one knows that better than JB, power dating from New York that I spoke to in September. At that point, he had gone on 200 post-breakup dates—most of them from Hinge and Raya—and expressed a feeling of exhaustion, even as he She can't completely escape the addictive thrill of dating apps.
I heard from JB in December. He reached out to let me know that he had somehow forgotten to share the “silliest” dating story in our first series of conversations. “I can't believe I only thought about it recently,” he wrote via text message. “A girl on our third date said, 'If you have good sex with me tonight, I'll cancel my other dates this week.'”
Right? I shot back.
“I was very angry. I almost ended the date,” he said. “She won until she hit me with that poisonous thing.”
JB told me he's still tired of the apps but there's still a lot left with them. The week we talked, he had just broken up again. A recent flirtation in Philadelphia failed after the woman lied about talking to someone else, he said. She made the first move on Raya and they later formed more bond trading DMs on Instagram. She pursued him, which was rare and a refreshing change of pace. “I was knocked out,” he said. That makes things even more difficult when the relationship ends. “She found me just to lie about it?”
JB is currently on the road to recovery, or what he described to me as a period of “side missions” — feeding the neighbor's cat, surfing TikTok, trying new restaurants. “I failed but we bounced back,” he told me. He wondered if dating apps would ever have a solution for singles like him. “It's really rotten here.”