A deep-dive exploring over 23,000 profiles in Tinder’s dating pool has identified the most common, self-reported interests of those looking for love on the mobile app.
Men looking for that first spark of connection with a special lady may want to reconnect with their softer side: leisure interests like reading (6 percent of profiles) and casual activities like walking (9 percent), topped the list for women.
The most commonly listed interests for men tended to be on the more high-intensity side, like sports (16 percent), working out (12 percent) and hiking (5 percent).
Tinder’s ‘swipe-based’ dating app let’s users post five of their interests on their profile — and the researchers pulled this ‘interest’ data from 13,941 women’s and 9,229 men’s Tinder profiles for the new study.
Fortunately, more than a few of these interests were common to both men and women, leaving plenty of room for a more organic connection, based real interests.
Men looking for that first spark of connection with a special lady may want to reconnect with their softer side, a new study has found: leisure interests like reading (6 percent of all profiles) and casual activities like walking (9 percent), topped the list for women
The new study found that, across the tens of thousands of profiles analyzed, a total of 322 unique ‘interests’ appeared across all these Tinder users’ profiles.
And yet, despite that vast array, the adventuring spirit was strong with most, uniting people across sex and gender: ‘Travel’ appeared as a top interest on 24 percent of women’s and 21 percent of men’s profiles.
‘For any singles who hope their future partner shares their wanderlust,’ the researchers said, ‘Tinder may be where to find them.’
Going to the gym, enjoying films, music and tattoos were all top ten commonalities popular with both men and women on the dating app.
Men | Women | |
---|---|---|
1 | Football (23%) | Travel (24%) |
2 | Travel (21%) | Music (14%) |
3 | Gym (21%) | Gym (14%) |
4 | Sports (16%) | Tattoos (12%) |
5 | Music (16%) | Coffee (11%) |
6 | Films (15%) | Films (10%) |
7 | Working out (12%) | Walking (9%) |
8 | Tattoos (10%) | Netflix (9%) |
9 | Outdoors (10%) | Shopping (8%) |
10 | Nightlife (10%) | Outdoors (8%) |
11 | Pubs (10%) | Festivals (8%) |
12 | Festivals (9%) | Nightlife (8%) |
13 | Netflix (9%) | Pubs (8%) |
14 | Walking (9%) | Working out (8%) |
15 | Coffee (7%) | Self-care (7%) |
16 | Cooking (6%) | Wine (7%) |
17 | Hiking (5%) | Fashion (7%) |
18 | Comedy (5%) | Reading (6%) |
19 | Grab a drink (5%) | Brunch (6%) |
20 | Running (4%) | Cooking (5%) |
But the differences are where singles might have an opportunity for a data-driven ‘life hack,’ which the study’s authors identified more as an issue of tone than making any radical change to one’s personality.
‘The findings suggest that men who want the best chances of finding a compatible match on the app may want to slow down and indulge in some more relaxing hobbies,’ according to the study’s authors, commissioned by the site CasinoZonder.
The primary outliers that appeared on the women’s top 20 list, but not on the men’s, all tended to be more low key and relaxed, whether it was enjoying ‘brunch’ (6 percent of profiles) or taking some time for ‘self-care’ (7 percent).
‘Women are generally more interested in more calming hobbies, as opposed to getting their blood pumping,’ as the researchers put it.
The outliers on the men’s list indicate that women may want to take the data as inspiration to indulge their sporty side.
Another ‘interest’ unique to the men’s top 20: ‘comedy’ (5 percent of profiles). So, don’t be afraid to tell a joke.
‘Dating apps and online dating are some of the most common ways to find a partner in the present day,’ the researchers said.
‘And the information which potential matches choose to display on their profile is key to figuring out if someone could be compatible with you.’