New dating trends revealed in Bumble’s 2024 annual report

New data on Aussie dating habits has revealed there’s one type of man that women find a massive “turn off” – and are now refusing to date.

If you failed to vote in the recent referendum and roll your eyes at the mere mention of the “cost of living crisis”, then you’re officially in the group of single guys that Australian women don’t want to date.

New data has revealed 1 in 3 women find it a massive “turn off” when a potential partner takes zero interest in current societal issues.

While 1 in 4 people state having a partner that actively engages with politics and social causes makes them “more attractive”.

The new dating trend is part of a modern movement which sees singles looking for shared priorities and expect their partners to not only care about social causes, but to actively engage in them.

A string of new dating trends have been revealed in Bumble’s 2024 annual report. Picture: iStock

What is “Val-Core” dating?

This has been dubbed “Val-Core”, a term which refers to the rise of people valuing engagement on issues that matter to them, according to the 2024 annual report from Bumble.

“In practice, this looks like doing something that our parents’ generation would have thought unthinkable – bringing up topics like politics, the patriarchy, climate change, racial injustices, or even the rising wealth gap on a first date, or even earlier,” Lucille McCart, the dating app’s APAC communications director, told news.com.au.

“I know when I was growing up my mum told me it was the ‘height of rudeness’ to ask someone how they voted, but for young people, discussion about how they planned to vote in the recent Voice referendum – and asking others how they planned to vote – was all over social media, and dating apps by extension.”

Lucille McCart, the dating app’s communications director, said Val-Core dating was emerging as a popular way to find a match. Picture: Supplied

Ms McCart said that in order to “understand” the Gen Z trend, older generations need to think about what we mean when we talk about values.

“These are our internal code of ethics, the foundation of how we see the world, and our moral compass,” she explained.

“While our beliefs are strongly linked to our values, they are a little bit different, more fact-based assumptions about the world around us.

“Whenever this topic comes up in discussion, I always say that shared values in a relationship are really crucial, but that it is often OK to have different beliefs to your partner.”

Bumble’s dating report uncovered that while Val-Core dating was on the rise, it is women who are predominantly behind it, with the research stating women are less open to dating someone with different political views than men.

Val-Core dating refers to the rise of people valuing engagement on issues that matter to them. Picture: iStock

“In Australia, 70 per cent of singles on Bumble say that it is important for their partner to engage in human rights issues, and 66 per cent say it is important for their partner to engage in sustainability issues, pointing to two of the most prevalent social causes in Australian society today, human rights and the environment,” Ms McCart added.

“We see this reflected in the Bumble app too – we have observed a rise in our community showcasing their values on their dating profiles, with young people especially using features like Interest Badges to pin the social causes that are important to them to their profile.

“Popular options are mental health, LGBTQ+ rights and the environment.”

Other trends that have emerged this year include singles ‘rebelling against constant self-improvement’ and embracing sport as a shared interest. Picture: Supplied

Betterment Burnout

Bumble also revealed Aussie singles were “rebelling against constant self-improvement” with a new dating trend described as “betterment burnout”.

In the wake of the self-help movement, 1 in 4 Bumble users admitted they felt “unworthy of a partner”, while 55 per cent said they “felt a constant pressure to find ways to better themselves”.

As a result, in 2024 we are going to see more people taking active steps to be happier with who they are, with 40 per cent stating they will “only date people who will not try to change them”.

Most Valuable Partner

With a new wave of women tennis stars, a constant stream of sports documentaries, and a global competition next summer, sport is set to take a front seat in dating, Bumble stated.

For 1 in 3 singles, a shared love of sports has now become a “must have” regardless of if you’re a player or simply a spectator, while our obsession with sports is also changing how we date with a quarter of people stating that attending sports together is important, particularly among Gen Z and Millennial singles.

Originally published as New dating trends revealed in Bumble’s 2024 annual report