Wollongong named city that had the most video dates on Tinder in 2021

A new pandemic-era dating trend is on the rise, and some unexpected Australian cities are at the forefront of it.

The idea of a virtual date probably never crossed most singles’ minds pre-pandemic, but it’s a trend now, and there are some unexpected Aussie cities being named the best at it.

Dating app Tinder has revealed its Year in Swipe for 2021, with some interesting findings about the way Australians took to online dating.

Wollongong in NSW was named the Australian city to have had the most video dates.

Newcastle came in second, followed by Canberra, Adelaide and the Gold Coast.

Tinder's Year in Swipe 2021.

Tinder Australia’s Kirsty Dunn said plenty of Aussies took to video dating on the app this year.

“The constraints of Covid had Gen Z looking to connect in different ways, with our research revealing that nearly half of Tinder members had a video chat with a match during the pandemic,” Ms Dunn told news.com.au.

“And 40 per cent plan to continue using video to get to know people even when the pandemic is over.”

Nearly half of Tinder members had a video chat with a match during the pandemic. Picture: Cordell Richardson

Online dating expert and Bad Dates of Melbourne founder Alita Brydon, who has more than 160,000 followers on Facebook, said people were being more vulnerable and authentic since the pandemic.

“Rewind a few years and having a video date would be quite intimidating,” she said.

“Thanks to the pandemic, we’ve leaned into technology and it’s not so scary anymore.

“To be honest, I’d prefer a video date to a phone call any day. It’s good to see someone’s body language.”

Mentions of “video call” in Tinder bios increased 52 per cent globally this year.

In Australia, it was clear being vaxxed became a dating flex, with the mention of “vax” in users’ bios increasing by 95 per cent between July and August.

The most popular emoji this year was the side eye, with a 40 per cent increase in usage in bios globally.

Last year, the most popular emoji was the shrug and in 2019 it was the facepalm.

Music was the top interest shared among users globally, with Olivia Rodgrio’s Good 4 u and Kid Laroi and Justin Bieber’s STAY ranked as chart-toppers in Tinder bios.