One of our favorite things that have come from the rise in popularity of online dating is how many people are connecting and reaching their goals to find love, no matter what roadblocks might have prevented that from happening in the past.
Everyone deserves to find and fall in love. That’s something we’re very passionate about, and it’s one of the many reasons why we love what dating apps have done for the community.
But one of the most surprising communities and demographics that have emerged victorious and excited about all of the features and perks that the online dating community has provided for them is the senior demographic.
Online dating apps are often all about being an all-inclusive place where everyone from all walks of life can come to and explore their options for love to hopefully find their happily ever after.
Because of this, the online dating market and dating apps have caught on to the fact that there are a few more niche groups of people looking for this kind of love online, and the apps are beginning to cater to them.
One of the most popular online dating markets and demographics is the senior market.
When we say senior, it’s hard not to picture someone sitting in their retirement home, hunched over a dating app and slowly learning all of the intricacies of online dating.
While those people do go on dating apps and there is no age limit to finding love, the seniors, or the more mature demographic that most often frequents the dating app scene and find success on their online journeys, are anywhere from the ages 55 to their late 60s.
These people might be divorced, single throughout their entire life, or even just lonely and trying to find someone to spend the rest of their days with. No matter the cause, this is one of the most dedicated and passionate age demographics looking for love online and who have already found a lot of success within their niche dating apps.
If you’re wondering why online dating is so prevalent within this community and why niche dating apps that are explicitly catered to a more mature audience keep popping up everywhere that dating apps are found, keep reading!
Seniors and Online Dating
Even though they may be a bit new to the online world, and thus, the online dating world by association, senior citizens are making their mark on their dating apps.
According to an interview conducted in 2021, Anthony Martin, the founder and CEO of Choice Mutual, said, “Senior citizens are actively playing the dating game, and in the last five years alone, 37 percent have dated.” He continues to describe the data he found, saying, “They’re using a lot of the same methods for meeting people as the younger generations, including going online to meet potential partners via dating apps and websites, and even social media.”
Although the idea of seniors swiping left and right on some of the most popular dating apps might be more entertaining than they think, it makes sense.
At the end of the day, ‘seniors’ is just a word that describes people aged 55 and older. While some people in nursing homes are searching for love as well, the current demographic isn’t that old.
Especially if you’re thinking about the people who want to find love online and want to spend their time searching for a new partner. We’re not trying to exclude anyone or any age range by any means, but we are aware that the younger seniors (typically those in their 50s and 60s) are still anxious to start dating and rekindle their love lives.
Not to mention, most of the ‘senior’ demographic who might not be the most technologically savvy when it comes to matters of online dating often have help from their children or grandchildren, who are usually in the demographic that is very used to dating apps and the online world and who will often set their parents, grandparents, or friends up on the platforms with which they’re very familiar.
And these people are not only using dating apps, dating websites, and social media to connect with other singles in their area every day.
The Forbes study went on to say that about one-third of the seniors who had decided that they were going to try dating again opted for a dating app to help them on their journey. The good news is that, out of that one-third population, 66% of those people had success on their chosen dating apps ad created a relationship out of their time spent on the apps.
This is due in part to a number of reasons. At the end of the day, while seniors can have fun online, and when it comes to dating, not a lot of the people in this demographic are going back to online dating and reentering into the dating world just because they’re bored or want to do something with their time.
Instead, these are often the people who are the most serious and dedicated to finding and having success when they’re online dating.
And because of their dedication, hopes, and desires, dating apps have caught onto this niche audience, and they’ve catered their dating apps to capture a more mature user database and allow the seniors to find the online love they’ve been wanting.
In the past few years, seniors have been some of the most dedicated and excited groups of people who have tried out online dating, and the market knows that and caters to them and all of their needs.
Here are some reasons niche senior-oriented dating apps have begun to rise in popularity on the dating app market.
1. Seniors Are More Comfortable Now than Ever before Using Technology
While there might be some outliers in this category, for the most part, those who are older in their years aren’t as technologically hopeless as they once were.
Again, just because we’re saying ‘senior’ doesn’t mean that these people are in their nineties or have lived through the Great Depression. These are the people a little later on in their years who might not be as tech-savvy as the youngest crowd but still know how to go online and live in the digital world.
Most of the users who currently love online dating and all that the platforms have to offer are very technologically savvy and know their way around the internet, a smartphone, social media, and even online dating.
Not to mention, if a few of the more mature users are a little confused or need some help, they have more than enough resources around them in their friends and family to help them out.
But this is a huge reason why niche dating apps catering to a mature audience and helping seniors find love are so important. No dating app should be overly complicated or burdensome to navigate because who wants that? The same is even more necessary for the apps specifically created for seniors.
These apps usually boast of being some of the easiest to navigate and understand because they know who their audience is and how to make online dating, which will always be a little more complicated and complex than we may want it to be, as easy as possible.
And because these websites and apps are so easily accessible and easy to understand, more and more seniors are downloading them and logging on to find love. It’s a wonderful domino effect that all starts with dating apps seeing a need for a niche group of people to feel seen and heard and then creating multiple platforms for that to happen.
Lon Sakfo, the author of The Social Medi Bible, says, “As more and more seniors have become increasingly comfortable with the internet, social platforms, and smartphone technology over the past decade senior internet dating sites have become very popular.”
As more seniors realize that they can start online dating and that the idea of it isn’t as difficult or scary as they might have thought before, there is more of a need for other niche senior-oriented dating apps to show up and make their mark on society.
2. Senior-Oriented Dating Apps Help a Necessary Group of People Connect with One Another
No one should feel lonely or feel as though they have no outlet to use to meet other people. But sadly, that’s how many seniors end up feeling later in their lives.
According to a study conducted by the University of California, San Fransico, over 40% of people over the age of 65 experience regular feelings of loneliness and isolation.
This age group often feels isolated from society, cut off from regular daily activities, or alone in the world. And while loneliness in and of itself is a terrible feeling, and everyone in society should do all that they can to combat it, the effects of loneliness can really damage a person and leave them with multiple health conditions and physical problems that will manifest in many different ways.
And for these adverse effects to happen for a group of people who are already later along in their years and possibly not the most healthy or active group of people, the results of loneliness might be detrimental to someone’s health and well-being.
The study continued to share statistics on the overall effect loneliness can have on a person. Loneliness is likely to increase a person’s mortality rate by 26 percent. Those who suffer from extreme loneliness or are socially isolated spend over $130 a month more on additional medical expenses than those who do not feel isolated or lonely.
Not to mention, loneliness causes people to be 64% more likely to have a case of clinical dementia as well as other major health concerns.
In short, loneliness affects much more than our hearts and minds. Loneliness is an all-encompassing plague that wears us down and can be detrimental to our lives, especially the lives of those in the older generation.
This is another reason why niche dating apps created with the specific purpose of connecting older singles are so vital today.
These dating apps are no longer just a way to get a quick hook-up or a fun date. For many, especially those who fight feelings of isolation in their day-to-day lives, these dating apps for seniors are a way for that demographic to overcome loneliness by connecting with people from all over the world.
This concept is relatively new but incredibly important and might change people’s lives in the long run.
Suddenly, because of the emergence of dating apps and the ability they give to seniors, an entire demographic is no longer left out of the digital age, and they’re allowed to explore all that the online world has to offer them.
3. Senior Dating Apps Are Often More Serious and Successful
We can all admit it; we’ve wasted a few of our nights on dating apps just swiping to swipe and see who is on these apps. And while there’s absolutely nothing wrong with having a bit of fun online and using your dating app as a distraction from the world around you, we can all admit that that’s not what they’re invented for.
Seniors know that and often take online dating very seriously. When you think about it, that makes sense. People who are more mature and older and on a dating app are more than likely not looking for a quick hook-up or a short date. Although, if you are, kudos to you.
Instead, these are people who have, for the most part, already lived their lives and had their fun and are looking for something serious.
According to a study conducted on Medicare Advantage, 25% of the seniors polled had gone on a date due to meeting someone on a dating app within the last year of the survey.
One might think that seniors aren’t too excited to get online and that there isn’t a massive pool of potential matches on these dating apps. That assumption would be very wrong. In fact, with the rise of apps like Silver Singles and Our Time, as well as the ‘normal’ popular dating apps that seniors are often inclined to use, the population of senior singles is more often than not flocking to a dating app to find love.
And while there are some outliers, these seniors who are using apps to help them find success online are just looking for life partners.
They might have recently gone through a divorce, gotten over the death of their loved one, or are just tired of being alone. Whatever the cause that might have led them to look for love online, most seniors are ready to buckle down and get serious about their search for love.
I know of three seniors in my life who got married within a year of meeting their person online. They still swear by the dating apps that allowed them to meet.
It’s a beautiful thing, and we’re so happy that dating apps have begun to branch out and include seniors and more mature audiences in their target demographics because they are a part of the generation that needs these tools.
4. Seniors Have the Most Time for Dating Apps
If you’re trying out online dating while you’re in your twenties or thirties, you might be a little stressed out. It’s a lot to keep up with when you’re working a full-time job (or two), trying to feed your dog, and also trying to have a social life that doesn’t revolve around your potential Tinder matches.
But if you’re a senior looking for love, odds are, you have more than enough time to sit back, relax, and scroll through all your potential matches.
Even though everyone’s time is valuable, no matter what their age might be, seniors are more than likely to have more time to explore all of the options that online dating provides them because they more than likely have a less active social or work calendar, if any work calendar whatsoever.
Because older singles usually have more free time than younger generations, they can spend more of their time and energy on their dating apps and looking for love.
Seniors trying out online dating are more than likely going to find the most success with it because they have the required amount of time needed to make it successful, especially when they choose a niche dating app that is specifically created to help them with their journey.
