There are over 4.9 billion active internet users around the world today. In other words, approximately 63% of the total population of the planet. And most importantly, this number is constantly increasing. It’s fair to say that the vast majority of modern internet users have met someone on the web at least once in their lives.

Today we’d like to look at how the online dating industry is changing right now, how developers are trying to attract a new young audience, and why the video communication format has become so popular in recent years. We will also tell you about several interesting platforms for dating and communication.

Interesting statistics from the world of web dating

To understand how much online dating and attitudes towards it have changed, let’s look at some statistics:

• In 2005, only 29% of adult users considered online dating a good way to find new friends or a soulmate. This number is now over 60%.
• The number and popularity of mobile dating apps is growing, while the relevance of websites is declining. Tinder has been the leader among dating apps for several years now. Many experts believe that by 2028 its growth rate will be around 9.3% per year, which is quite a lot.
• About 12% of adults who use online dating apps have started long-term relationships due to online dating.
• In the US, more than 30% of adult single people use dating sites and apps. By comparison,in 2013 it was only 11%.

At the same time, it should be noted that the audience for dating services is “growing up”. Young people are not as active as middle-aged and older people. Therefore, the developers of such services face an important question: how to attract a young audience.

Gamification and video chat: how online dating platforms are attracting a younger generation of users

Gamification is a very effective tool that helps engage the audience and make dating more interesting. The aforementioned Tinder has been using elements of gamification for a long time, making the process of finding a match more interesting and motivating. All those swipes and matches — that’s the game. And the reward for “victory” is an interesting and promising acquaintance.

However, there are services that approach gamification in an even more creative way and thereby attract new audiences:

• Hily — a dating app that has a “Faces” mini-game. The essence of it is that you need to choose from several facial expressions on the screen that match your mood. And then the system will try to find you a match with the same mood.
• Ship — another interesting mobile app with a simple but interesting “Shake to chat” feature. It’s simple — shake your phone and Ship will match you with a new person to chat with.
• Crown — an app that offers you 16 potential partners, and you have to choose the ones that you are most interested in. If attractions match, you can chat with this person.
• Quiz Date Live — an app that combines dating with live quizzes in which users compete against each other by answering questions, the prize being a chance to go on a date with your selected member.
• Feeld — an app with a game called “Wish”. You can view various fantasies and desires, and indicate which ones are of interest to you. Then Feeld will try to find you potential partners with the same desires.

As you can see, there’s nothing extraordinary here. But even these minor elements of gamification can help to attract an audience. Today, however, video communication is much more important. And here is where things get interesting!

According to the results of various surveys, modern young internet users spend more than an hour a day watching videos and communicating via video calls. Some of them even more. This is forcing developers to actively add video chat to their apps. But before using these, do not forget about chatroulettes — free video chat apps such as Omegle, which allow you to chat with random people.

Among video chats, the following platforms deserve special attention:

• OmeTV — a straightforward free Omegle alternative with gender and language filters and a built-in translator. A good option for those who appreciate minimalism and simplicity.
• Omegle.Chat — a free video chat for easy online dating and communication. Omegle.chat also has a built-in message translator, excellent moderation service, and there are no bots or fakes. An undeniable advantage!
• Tinychat — not a classic video chat in the usual sense, but rather a streaming service. You can watch other people’s streams or host your own. You can also search for streamers near you.
• Bazoocam — a free video chat without detailed filters for searching for users, but with built-in online mini-games and its own video streaming platform. Suitable for lovers of simplicity and affordability.
• Chatki — a video chat that basically copies the functionality of another popular service — Chatrandom. It offers you a gender filter, as well as a search for users by interest. There is a separate chat with girls, but it is available only to owners of premium accounts.
• Shagle — a clone of Omegle with a gender filter and country search. It makes it easier for you to find a suitable chat partner, although it is difficult to call the search really accurate and error-free. According to the developers, they focus primarily on anonymity and confidentiality.
• Chathub — a video chat site with a gender filter and a choice of communication language. And by and large, that’s the entire functionality of this site. Chathub doesn’t even have a mobile app, which can be a bit of an inconvenience for users who like to meet and chat on their smartphones. But the site is well adapted for mobile browsers, so there will be no particular difficulties in using it.

The ability to meet and communicate via video is really a godsend for the younger generation of internet users. And although the random video chat format itself is far from new, it has recently been rapidly gaining momentum and attracting more and more attention from the audience.

Keep up with the evolution of online dating

The internet is changing, and the entire online dating industry is changing too. New dating services are emerging, and the old ones are fading away. Developers introduce new functionality and remove unpopular features. Users are looking for something unusual and non-standard for dating and chatting on the web.

We are 100% sure that in the near future we will see many new interesting solutions from the world of internet dating — new communication formats, new platforms and new ways to use dating services. Therefore, let’s follow the updates and not miss the most interesting developments!