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Looking for a new friend? You might consider trying a dating app.
That’s what Gaby Deimeke, 26, did after moving to Austin, Texas in 2019.
After hearing about Bumble BFF at a music festival, Deimeke downloaded the app and tried it out.
Originally launched in 2016, Bumble BFF is a platform within the dating app Bumble specifically designed to help people connect with platonic friends.
Deimeke told FOX News, “I just thought it was a really cool idea because as a younger generation that we’re really into technology, I thought that the combination of not just the dating app but the friends part … really ingenious.”
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The app was also particularly helpful when the coronavirus pandemic hit the United States a few months later
Gaby Deimeke, 26, of Austin, Texas, (left) told Fox News that she used Bumble BFF to make friends when she moved to Austin in 2019. She met her boyfriend Alex (right) and even invited Alex to her birthday party.
(Courtesy of Gaby Deimeke)
“During the pandemic, it was actually perfect because people didn’t really go out and that’s how you usually meet people,” Deimeke said. “I had just moved from New York to Austin so I didn’t know anyone and I needed a way to make those connections.”
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Deimeke is not alone. According to a survey conducted by OnePulse for the Wall Street Journal, 35% of Generation Z respondents – between the ages of 16 and 24 – said they had used dating apps to make friends in the past year, including 27% who said Apps for friends to use because they were lonely during the pandemic.
Similarly, Bumble President Tariq Shaukat said that interest in the Bumble BFF platform has increased over the past year.
“In the first three months of 2021, the average time spent on Bumble BFF increased 44% for women and 83% for men – suggesting that as cities reopen, people are ready to start new Meeting people and reviving their social lives after a year of increasing isolation for many, “Shaukat told FOX News in a statement.” Also, over 90% of women who contacted BFF in March 2021 found at least one match. “
The Match Group also reportedly saw a surge in interest in people’s interest in friendships on their platforms, which include Tinder, Hinge, Plenty of Fish, and more.
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In the meantime, the dating app Coffee Meets Bagel continues to focus on helping its users find romantic partners for long-term relationships rather than making friends.
Dawoon Kang, Coffee Meets Bagel’s co-founder and chief dating officer, told FOX News that if the company ever decides to help users find friends, it will be safe to clearly separate those two platforms.
“One of the biggest frustrations partners experience with a dating app is this lack of clarity about what the other person might be looking for,” said Kang, adding, “It creates a lot of confusion and frustration when we run into situations where it is clearly you have been matched with someone who is not looking for the same thing. “
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For Deimeke, Bumble BFF was a success.
The women have become so good friends that Deimeke even goes to Spain for Alex’s wedding in the fall.
(Courtesy of Gaby Deimeke)
“My friend Alex, we met at Bumble BFF,” said Deimeke. “She finally came to my birthday party and now I’m going to her wedding in Spain this fall.”
Now that she’s built a solid group of 10 or 12 friends in Austin, Deimeke doesn’t use the app as often to make new friends. However, she said she would recommend the app to others who might want to make new friends.
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Deimeke says she connects with friends who have interests similar to art, photography, or starting a new sushi restaurant.
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