Over the past year, we’ve seen fandom reach new heights, discovered a new obsession with young and rising local stars who bring excitement to the forefront of entertainment, seen men embrace their inner ‘ken-ergy’, and witnessed iconic women driving the economy through their creativity and passion in ‘making it’.
Bumble’s 2023 trends focused on navigating love abroad with Wanderlove, dating beyond your type with Open-casting and establishing new boundaries with our partners, our work lives and our finances. Looking ahead, 2024 is set to be the year of “self” in dating and relationships with more people looking inwards at what they value and want.
This personal prioritization sees singles rejecting the constant strive for perfection, discarding outdated timelines, challenging ‘jobification’, and placing more value on emotional vulnerability, self-acceptance, and shared priorities.
Heading into 2024, there is an air of optimism and clarity for the ‘year of self’ as Bumble’s research* shows that more than half (63%) of Filipino women surveyed are going into the new year with a clear view of what they want from their romantic lives.
Bumble’s dating trend predictions include:
1. Timeline Decline: People, especially women, continue to feel a constant pressure to follow traditional relationship timelines. Into 2024, we’re seeing the decline of timelines in favor of women choosing to actively build their own path, with 1 in 3 (31%) Filipino women saying they are no longer focused on adhering to traditional timelines and milestones. This is reflected in intentions with nearly 3 in 4 (76%) of women looking for a long-term relationship and less than one-third (31%) seeking marriage. For nearly half (43%) of women, this means only dating people who have the same perspective on timelines and milestones. And for a quarter of women (25%) in the Philippines, this means actively avoiding friends and family who put pressure on them, especially during holiday celebrations.
2. Gen(erational)-Blend Romance: Building on dating beyond your ‘type’, there has been an increase in cross-generational relationships. Singles on Bumble are increasingly open to connections both older and younger. For 2 in 3 (63%) people surveyed globally, age is not a defining factor when dating with more than half (59%) of women saying they are now more open to dating someone younger than them. In the Philippines specifically, 4 in 5 men are now more open to dating older women. We’re also changing how we view others’ relationships with more than half of Filipino men (50%) and women (59%) on Bumble stating they have become less judgemental towards age gap relationships over the last year as compared to their global counterparts (34%).
3. Val-Core Dating: Singles today are looking for shared priorities and expect their partners to not only care about social causes but to actively engage. Val-Core refers to the rise of people valuing engagement on issues that matter to them. For almost half (48%) of the people on Bumble in the Philippines, it is key that their partner actively engages with politics and social causes, in fact, it makes them more attractive. Specifically, 84% of Filipinos say their potential partner engaging in Human Rights issues is important to them, followed by sustainability (73%) and politics and voting (72%). When it comes to dating, Bumble’s research shows that Filipino women are less open (63%) to dating someone with differing political views as compared to men (52%), and for 1 in 3 (36%) women it is a turn off if someone they are dating is not aware of current societal issues.
4. Intuitive Intimacy: For people today, and particularly women, it seems attraction comes down to one key thing: emotional intimacy. Filipino singles are focused on finding security, safety, and understanding, with 44% of those surveyed on Bumble believing that emotional intimacy is now more important than sex and that it’s actually more attractive than physical connection. When it comes to dating, an overwhelming majority (78%) of women in the Philippines say it’s key that their partner has an understanding of both emotional and physical intimacy. In 2024, it’s time to get in your feels.
5. Consider-date: This year’s prioritization of self-care and mental health has led to more than half (58%) of singles around the world being more open about their mental health and making a concerted effort to slow down. In the Philippines, single people are reframing how they date to better protect their mental health, with almost half (49%) of those surveyed locally actively ‘slow-dating’ and being considerate about how much they are dating to ensure quality over quantity, even more so amongst women (56%). In fact, almost half (46%) of Filipinos are actively seeking people who practice and value self-care. This is bringing back a trend that Bumble identified in the pandemic, challenging the “job-ification” of love with 1 in 4 (26%) Filipinos actively deterred by anyone who treats a date as a checklist exercise.
6. Open-Hearted Masculinity: The year has been filled with global conversations about masculinity and gender roles in fashion, media, music, and film (ken-ergy, anyone?). When it comes to relationships, close to one-third (30%) of Filipino men state that they have actively changed their behavior, becoming more vulnerable and open with people they are dating than ever before. For 42% of men, this new-found openness has had a positive impact on their mental health and for whom a lack of vulnerability is now a dating dealbreaker.
7. Betterment Burnout: From biohacking and starting your day at 5 am, to plugging into self-help podcasts, there has been a rise in people ‘self-optimizing’ – striving to become a perfect version of themselves. This has led the majority (55%) of singles surveyed globally to feel pressure to constantly look for ways to better themselves, with this number being even higher in the Philippines at 69% of Filipinos feeling the same way. This leaves more than 1 in 4 (26%) feeling unworthy of a partner. Looking ahead to 2024, singles are rebelling against the constant self-improvement with more than 2 in 3 Filipino women surveyed (69%) taking active steps to be happier with who they are here and now. In fact, 38% of women will now only date people who will not try to change them.
Lucille McCart, Bumble’s APAC Communications Director said: “In 2023, dating themes centered around travel romances, the importance of clear and healthy boundaries (a term that was hijacked by a certain Hollywood star earlier this year), and dating outside your type. We know that social and cultural movements are incredibly intertwined with our dating and social lives, and this year we saw many conversations come to a head on social issues including misogyny, therapy speak, women’s rights, among others, which have left many people – especially women – feeling exhausted. This is all having an impact on how people on Bumble are dating in the Philippines and around the world – people are assessing what is important to them, feeling more empowered in their sense of self, and seeking out people who value the same things as them – whether that is social causes, lifestyle choices, or even as simple as their favorite sports team.
We are also observing a really exciting phenomenon that sees singles rewriting the rulebook and unpacking expectations around age, the pursuit of perfectionism and relationship timelines. People are looking inward more than ever before, becoming more accepting of who they are, and showing up to their dating experience as a more vulnerable and authentic version of themselves. We predict that 2024 will usher in a year of the self, with Filipinos feeling empowered to prioritize what they value, be fearless about what they stand for, and have a renewed sense of clarity about what they want in their romantic lives.”
To empower singles to make the most of 2024, Bumble has launched new features including Best Bees, a curated daily set of four compatible profiles to help you find more relevant connections faster. See someone who also shares your passion for sports or sustainability? You can send a message with the Compliments feature.
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