Gen Z, or the Zoomers, are refining the dating game with a clink of their espresso martinis. A generation that was raised on the internet, is out-interneting the Millennials.
Gen Z who are growing up, making mistakes, having fun and figuring themselves out on very public platforms, look at Millennials as those starting their slow descent into Boomerhood. “The Millennials are joining forces with the same older generations they’ve spent the last 10 years denigrating,” says Logan Mahan, a Gen-Zer herself. Boomers are the generation born roughly between 1946 and 1965. Generation Z, (or Gen Z for short), colloquially known as zoomers, is the demographic cohort succeeding Millennials and preceding Generation Alpha. They are born between 1997 to 2012.
Tinder Is Old Hat
Intergenerational war-mongering is nothing new. As the first Tinder generation, the Millennials settle down to marriage, the Zoomers are defining that game. Along with side-parts skinny jeans, and the 😂 emoji that is no longer cool, this generation is also moving away from old dating apps.
The 18-25 year olds find Tinder old hat. The pressure to meet the right swiped individual is too much for them. They want to get to know the person online before that first date.
They’ve never lived in a time without the internet; some have never lived in a time without YouTube. Happy to date in meta space, they tend to live more slowly in no hurry to physically meet, They have lower rates of teenage pregnancies, and consume alcohol less often. A new term slow dating enters the lexicon. They establish an online relationship and then perhaps meet.
Slow Dating
Compared to previous generations, members of Generation Z tend to be well-behaved, abstemious, and risk-averse, says a report by Pew Research Centre. They are better at delaying gratification than their counterparts from the 1960s. Reported The Economist that Generation Z are more concerned than older generations with academic performance and job prospects.
A generation that says ‘No worries’ in response to a ‘Thankyou’ wants to do you no favors. They are people who hope you “don’t take yourself too seriously.”
Schmooze Or Snooze?
Instead of focusing on what the dating partner looks like, they want a shared sense of humor. Do you make one another laugh? Do you enjoy each other’s company?
According to the latest research from Tinder, 48% said sharing a sense of humor is near the top of their wish list. The Gen Zs are twirling to a new app called Schmooze.
Ask Me A Question
”Dating apps have been around for a decade but people are souring on them right now,” says Stephen Colbert, host of The Late Show. “Word on the Street is that Gen Z is ready to break up with Tinder. With Tinder on the decline there are a slew of dating apps filling the space,” he said. He speaks of Schmooze as one of them.
Students download Schmooze, an app that makes them swipe memes and connects them based on a shared sense of humor before showing them profiles of who they have matched with. The app was first beta tested and developed at Stanford University in California. The founder Vidya Madhavan was a student at Stanford’s business school.
“After a certain amount of swiping, the app’s machine-learning model attempts to evaluate what kind of humor the person likes and their topics of interest, such as politics, pop culture or science. At that point, they’ll receive a “#MatchRec” with someone whose humor allegedly matches theirs, leaving the person with the choice to “Schmooze” or “Snooze,” says Madhavan.
Make ‘Em Laugh
“Humor is the basis of a good relationship,” says L.A. Times reporter Jaimie Ding.
“With Schmooze the assumption is if you share the same sense of humor you are likely to find that person sexually attractive,” surmised Colbert.
“There are similar divides when it comes to dark humor, and people who really love puns — and those who hate them,” reported TechCruch.
Humor plays a big role in younger generations’ media consumption and communication. Subjects of interest, such as politics, pop culture or science form the basis of memes. A commentary on subjects of mutual interest brings people together.
Ritu Marwah is a Boomer. She is the mother of a Millennial and a Zoomer.