Hily Reports Virtual Dating On The Rise

Online Dating

The Hily Dating App Surveys Its Users & Finds Evidence That Virtual Dating is on the Rise in a Post-Pandemic World

Amber Brooks

Written by: Amber Brooks

Amber Brooks

Amber Brooks is the Editor-in-Chief at DatingAdvice.com. When she was growing up, her family teased her for being "boy crazy," but she preferred to think of herself as a budding dating and relationship expert. As an English major at the University of Florida, Amber honed her communication skills to write clearly, knowledgeably, and passionately about a variety of subjects. Now with over 1,800 lifestyle articles to her name, Amber brings her tireless wit and relatable experiences to DatingAdvice.com.

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Edited by: Lillian Castro

Lillian Castro

Lillian Guevara-Castro brings more than 30 years of journalism experience to ensure DatingAdvice articles have been edited for overall clarity, accuracy, and reader engagement. She has worked at The Atlanta Journal and Constitution, The Gwinnett Daily News, and The Gainesville Sun covering lifestyle topics.

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The Short Version: As a data-driven dating app, Hily studies user behavior and looks for overarching trends in how they connect online. This ongoing analysis has become especially important as the coronavirus pandemic has shut down popular date venues and forced singles to get creative when planning social distancing dates. The Hily team conducted a survey in April 2020 to see if Hily users are open to meeting new people through video chats and phone calls, and the results show that virtual dating is gaining momentum in the modern dating scene.

One of my closest friends is active on dating apps, so she had quite a few date nights on the calendar in March 2020 when coronavirus cases spiked in her area. Within a week, all bars and dine-in restaurants were closed, and her city had implemented a stay-at-home order to keep everyone safe.

The Hily logo

Hily is a smart dating app that supports deep conversations and long-term relationships.

Suddenly, my friend had to figure out how to deal with her canceled date plans. Some of her online crushes still wanted to meet up in person by having dinner at an apartment or going for a walk at a park. She didn’t think these options were very safe, so she arranged a phone or video date instead.

Such virtual dates give singles, like my friend, the opportunity to keep their romantic conversations going and vet online matches without breaking social distancing rules or putting anyone’s health and safety at risk.

In April 2020, the Hily dating app began tracking changes in user behavior and attitudes to find out how to help singles match, meet, and date in the midst of a pandemic. The app conducted a survey to see how receptive men and women in its membership base are to the concept of virtual dating — or meeting through a video chat — and the results may surprise you.

According to a survey of 1,500 Hily users from the U.S. and the U.K., virtual dating is rapidly becoming the new normal, and the vast majority of singles are open to skipping real-life dates for now and pursuing online romantic connections through video chat, phone calls, and texting.

Over Two-Thirds of Hily Users Give Virtual Dates a Thumbs Up

Hily currently has over 15 million users around the world, and the smart dating app is rapidly growing its reputation as a more serious alternative to the casual swiping scene.

One of Hily’s most prominent features is a data-driven approach to love and matchmaking. The app calculates compatibility based on a 40-question personality quiz, and it only recommends the dating profiles of people who share a lot of common characteristics.

Illustration from Hily

The Hily app has promoted virtual dates during the coronavirus pandemic.

This innovative matchmaking system has been successful so far, and the Hily team is looking to further expand its relationship knowledge and unlock the secrets of the heart by consistently surveying singles in the dating pool.

Hily’s most recent survey focused on the biggest global issue of the day: the coronavirus and how it’s impacting the way people communicate and bond.

The survey found that over 50% of Hily users haven’t been on a virtual date, but they say they’re open to giving it a try. Another 17% of Hily users said they have gone on at least one virtual date and would do it again. And 3% said they had tried virtual dating and wouldn’t do it again. That leaves about 30% of singles who haven’t virtual dated and aren’t interested in trying it.

Every person enters the dating world with different goals, comfort levels, and expectations, so it’s natural that they behave differently when pursuing online matches and picking up virtual dates. Some singles dive in and are ready to try anything, while others are more reserved and cautious about meeting someone new. If a person would rather wait until the pandemic is over to meet people, that’s their prerogative.

Overall it seems that most Hily users — about 70% — are open to the idea of virtual dating and want to take that step with the right match. Hily can help with that selection process by delivering curated match suggestions each and every day, and then it’s up to singles to keep the conversation going.

Lockdowns Have Led to an Increase in Online Dating Activity

From the outset, Hily has aimed to create deep and long-lasting relationships by using a psychology-based and data-driven matchmaking system, and the app continues to find ways to keep singles engaged and interested in learning more about each other.

Hily gives singles the opportunity to bond over shared interests and experiences, and they can send flirty messages without worrying about running into unsavory characters or fake profiles.

The Hily community rules state, “Hily is a safe place for you to express yourself, get to know new people, and meet someone who can become your significant other. We build a community of people who respect other users and tolerate each other’s differences.”

Screenshot of Hily

Hily gives authentic people a more quality-driven online dating experience.

In the last few months, the Hily community has grown more active as its users go under lockdowns and look for ways to ease the loneliness and find meaningful connections. The online dating scene has thrived during the pandemic because apps and sites can offer a way to reach out to someone special while keeping proper social distance.

According to the Hily survey, 27% of singles said they are talking to more people on dating apps than they did before the lockdowns started, and 8% said they’re talking to the same number of people but their conversations have become more frequent and lengthy.

The Hily team has seen an uptick in online activity in recent months that supports this survey data, and it’s clear that even a pandemic can’t keep singles from following their hearts and searching for love.

Hily’s Smart Matching System Keeps Singles Feeling Connected

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all aspects of life, including the dating scene, and its ripple effects are still being felt around the world. Today’s singles have adapted their dating strategies to account for social distancing, and that has led to a lot of virtual date nights using a webcam or smartphone.

The Hily dating app has kept close tabs on how the pandemic has changed people’s dating attitudes and habits, and its new survey reports that virtual dating is more popular than ever. Hily has the matchmaking power and connective tools to help bridge the divide between compatible online daters — even in the face of a pandemic — and it has already helped millions of singles find their way to a great in-person or virtual date.

Many single people, my friend included, have successfully adapted to this new normal and started scheduling video dates to build on their romantic chemistry and take their text conversations to the next level.

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