00:20:22 · Katie Prescott, Yoel Roth
[00:20:22] S2: And talk to me about what you're seeing at Match at the moment, because I know you have just done this study into dating. [00:20:28] S3: Yeah, I think the most striking top line finding coming out of our study in The UK is that even as there's more ways for people to connect than ever before across Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, it's harder and harder for people to turn that into connection. The real paradox is that a third of singles didn't meet a single new person face to face in the last month. And that data is globally representative. [00:20:56] S2: Really? That's mad. [00:20:57] S3: Yeah. But when you think about it, it's in part driven by the fact that the traditional spaces of human connection have really eroded. If you look at where, you know, boomers traditionally would meet a partner, places like the pub or a bar, only 4% of Gen Z say that they've met their most recent partner in one of those spaces. And so there's been a really fundamental transformation in where connection happens. That said, six in ten UK singles say they want more of their social life to happen in person. And so there's a real sense of loss associated with this change, a feeling that we've given something up by becoming more and more connected online, but less and less connected in person. [00:21:43] S2: So how you change that then? How do you get those people who are finding each other online to actually meet in person?
00:21:43 · Katie Prescott, Yoel Roth
[00:21:43] S2: So how you change that then? How do you get those people who are finding each other online to actually meet in person? [00:21:50] S3: I mean, the fundamental thing we need to do is make it easier for people to find low pressure points of connection. 40% of Gen Z and millennial singles in The UK say that they would find organized single events like run clubs or karaoke nights appealing. And we particularly see with women that they say that they'd rather meet somebody new with friends around. And so what that tells us is that there's an appetite for connection, but it's not just any connection. And oftentimes, it's not that traditional one on one, you meet up and you sit across a table from each other and talk version of dating. Dating is now much more social and experiential and connected. The phrase we hear again and again, especially from Gen Z, is low pressure. And so what we're focused on building are lower pressure ways for singles to connect with each other. Imagine something like going to a pickleball event, and then afterwards, if you saw somebody who caught your eye, you can go on Tinder, find that person, and strike up a conversation. You have the in person interaction to see if there's a spark, and then you can have the follow-up later on where it's lower pressure for you to have that connection one on one. Those are the types of experiences that Gen Z singles in particular are looking for, and it's where we think Tinder can be really well positioned to offer a compelling product experience that people want.
00:23:20 · Katie Prescott, Yoel Roth
[00:23:20] S2: So what you're saying is when you talk about low pressure, it's like you don't actually have to go up to somebody and ask for their phone number because you might get rejected. So that creates a pressure or a friction point. [00:23:31] S3: That's right. I mean, I think back with some horror about the experiences that I would have, you know, being at a bar and trying to mingle with people. And it's both like, do you find this person attractive? And then you have to figure out what to say, and then you have to introduce yourself. It like, I actually think technology can really make that interaction better. There's a clear product market fit around reducing the awkwardness of a first connection. But people don't always want that to be predicated on having endless online back and forth or feeling like it needs to be overdetermined so that the online back and forth exclusively leads to a date. People want the option of starting with friendship and socializing first. [00:24:15] S2: Thank you, Yoel. [00:24:16] S3: Thank you so much for having me.
00:24:16 · Yoel Roth, Danny Fortson, S7
[00:24:16] S3: Thank you so much for having me. Ad[00:24:20] S1: This episode of the Times Tech Podcast is sponsored by Adobe. AI is rapidly changing how brands reach customers, But simply adding AI to your tech doesn't guarantee results. That's where Adobe comes in, personalizing customer experiences and turning AI into real business value. With data at the center of decisions and governance built into every step, you can use AI safely. And with Adobe, your teams are free to focus on what matters most, setting strategy, defining goals, and bringing the creative insight and nuance that only people can. Turn AI's promise into marketing reality. It starts with Adobe. Ad[00:25:01] S7: Today's episode of the Times Tech Podcast is sponsored by ServiceNow. ServiceNow describes itself as an AI control tower for business reinvention, connecting people, systems, data, and AI so work flows more smoothly across an organization. The platform integrates with different clouds, models, and data sources, bringing them together in one place to help your team. To learn more about how ServiceNow puts AI to work for people, visit servicenow.com.
00:25:01 · S7, S4
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00:26:38 · Katie Prescott
[00:26:38] S2: So there we go. That's the state of the dating world for you. Think the thing that really jumped out for me was the narrative at the moment is so focused on AI killing us all. And there's really a dystopian view of AI. And actually he says the issues are far more prosaic and they are in what's going on in disinformation, and perhaps sometimes even more insidiously, actually, misinformation. People just accepting what a chatbot says is correct and absolutely it's kind of pumping out nonsense. And there just being a total lack of any sort of regulation around that, which I think was really interesting in terms of safety and just how AI has sort of exacerbated the problems that he would have dealt with at Twitter.