And then of course, the pandemic hit and turned dating and social norms on their head
After the 2016 US presidential election, Hobley says, people - and singles - were more passionate and more vocal about their beliefs than ever before. OkCupid saw an opportunity to help people connect based on their values. “[We saw daters saying'] ‘Hey, hang on, I want my dates' views on social and political issues. I want to match on those things. I want to feel like it's okay to say, “Hey, I'm proudly an LGBTQ ally” or “I'm very concerned about the environment, and if you don't believe climate change is real, get the fuck out”' - swipe left, in other words.”
The app introduced new ways for daters to set their preferences and to signal to potential matches what their values and politics entail. Daters on OkCupid can now select how they identify from more than 20 sexual orientations and over 22 gender options; users can make multiple selections and update them as frequently as they'd like.
The platform has also rolled out ‘badges' - icons that users can choose to display on their profiles that indicate, for example, that they're pro-choice or that they believe in combating climate change. In fact, Hobley says, users can select from an expansive list of issues that matter to them - and even rank their priorities - from a long list of issues ranging from reproductive rights and immigration to racial equity and gun control. Of course they can also opt out altogether or choose not to share their leanings with potential matches. OkCupid is the only major dating app on the market that offers users this level of filtering based on social and political values.
“Climate change is one of those things that across any issue - like travel, wanting or not wanting kids - becomes one of users' top three, from Delhi, to Detroit, to Melbourne to Paris.”
An interesting observation the company has made is that climate change is among the most consistently highly-ranked priorities for OkCupid users around the world - not just among the socio-political issues but among all dating-related priorities and values
Hobley has hitched the brand's horse to this focus on enabling daters to match with other singles based on any number of issues.
