Facebook Dating launched in 2018 as a way for Facebook users to connect with potential romantic matches through the Facebook app. Since its launch, Facebook Dating has grown in popularity and now has millions of users worldwide. But what exactly are people using Facebook Dating for these days? Let’s take a look at some of the main reasons people are turning to Facebook Dating to find love in the modern age.
Finding Romantic Relationships
One of the most common reasons people use Facebook Dating is to find romantic relationships. Whether it’s casual dating or a more serious, long-term relationship, Facebook Dating provides a platform to connect with compatible singles who also have Facebook accounts.
Facebook Dating tends to attract users who are specifically looking for relationships, as opposed to more casual encounters. Because it draws from your existing Facebook social connections and interests, there is the potential to find matches you may already have things in common with. This gives Facebook Dating an advantage over some other dating apps and sites which focus solely on physical attraction for making connections.
Long-Term Relationships
Many Facebook Dating users join the platform with the hopes of finding a meaningful, long-term relationship. Because Facebook Dating matches you with people who are part of your extended social networks, there is the possibility of finding someone you share common interests and connections with already. This creates the potential for finding a partner you are compatible with on multiple levels, beyond just physical attraction or superficial qualities.
The profile setup on Facebook Dating allows users to showcase their personality and interests in depth, which is conducive to matching with someone for the long haul. People seeking their soulmate or partner to settle down with long-term often find Facebook Dating better suited for this goal than apps that facilitate more casual flings.
Casual Dating
While finding lasting love is a prime motivator, some people do use Facebook Dating for more casual dating purposes. Facebook Dating provides an easy way to chat, flirt, and make plans with people in your extended social circles for casual dates.
For those not looking to commit to a serious relationship but wanting to have fun dating, Facebook Dating offers a pool of singles without the pressure of seeking something long-term. The laid-back vibe of Facebook Dating lends itself well to casually getting to know new people in your area, without expectations.
Meeting New People
Another major appeal of Facebook Dating is simply the prospect of meeting new people for friendships or relationships. Facebook Dating introduces you to singles outside your own friend group, but still within your university or city networks.
This provides a comfortable middle ground of getting to know new people who are not total strangers, since they have some overlap in connections or communities with you. For those seeking to expand their social circles and make new connections, Facebook Dating provides a platform to do so with other singles.
Making Friends
While Facebook Dating has a primarily romantic focus, some people use it as a way to make new friends as well. The feature allows you to choose whether you are looking to “Meet New People” or “Find a Relationship,” giving you the flexibility to connect platonically.
The fact that Facebook Dating taps into your existing networks makes it easy to find friend potential with people who share common interests or groups. Seeking friendship on the app is perfect for those moving to a new city or simply looking to widen their social horizons.
Networking Opportunities
Similarly, people may use Facebook Dating to grow their professional or social networks outside of just finding love or friendships. Connecting with new contacts through the app can lead to networking opportunities, as well as the chance to expand one’s business, creative or personal endeavors.
So while romantic matchmaking is the goal for most, some see Facebook Dating as a tool to meet a wide range of new people and find symbiotic relationships of many kinds. Dating apps ultimately provide a fascinating way to link up with humans nearby for all kinds of social motivations.
Location-Based Connections
A major advantage of Facebook Dating is that it is location-based, so you are matched with singles who live in geographical proximity to you. This differentiates it from traditional Facebook friend suggestions, which can draw from connections all over the world.
Having a dating pool of singles near you makes setting up in-person dates much more convenient. Whether you live in a major city or a more remote town, Facebook Dating adapts to provide date options in your local area.
Meeting Singles in Your City
For city dwellers, Facebook Dating offers an easy way to connect with other urban singles. Young professionals in cities often have busy schedules and expansive social networks, making it difficult to connect romantically. Facebook Dating simplifies the dating process by presenting you with eligible singles in your metro area, filtering out people who live too far away to reasonably meet up.
Beyond your existing friend circles, it opens up a pool of local singles who you might never run into randomly in a city of millions. Proximity is key, and Facebook Dating saves you the hassle of driving hours to meet someone from the suburbs or far flung neighborhoods.
Rural Connection
In rural areas and small towns, dating options are often limited and it can feel impossible to find compatible singles nearby. Facebook Dating solves this by showing you matches within a reasonable radius of a few towns over.
While the pool is smaller, you are able to connect with rural and suburban singles living in drivable proximity. Long gone are the days of having no eligible singles around unless you want to date your cousins or exes from high school. Facebook Dating expands your horizons beyond just your farm or tiny town.
Shared Interests and Communities
One of the best features of Facebook Dating is its ability to match you based on shared Facebook groups and page likes. This creates an instant connection over mutual interests, hobbies, causes or communities you are both part of.
Other dating sites rely solely on demographics and physical preferences, but Facebook Dating lets you engage over things you actually care about or participate in actively. You can bond right off the bat over your favorite sports team, political cause, TV show or outdoor adventure group.
Finding Your People
Whatever niche interest or passion you have, from quantum physics to Spartan racing, Facebook Dating helps you find fellow enthusiasts locally. This makes connecting not only more likely, but gives you an instant shared activity to bond over or chat about.
Smaller communities like pagans, polyamorous groups or roller derby leagues can have a hard time finding each other offline. Facebook Dating brings these micro-communities together, helping matching you with like-minded souls you may otherwise never encounter.
Ice Breaker Topics
Seeing what Facebook groups, events and pages you have in common provides natural ice breaker conversation topics with your matches. When you match with a fellow rock climber or anime fan, you know you’ll always have an easy thing to talk about.
Having shared communities prevents you from going through the awkward small talk phase with false pretenses. Connecting over real shared interests gets relationships off the ground more authentically.
Vetting Potential Partners
In the age of online dating, learning to vet romantic partners is crucial. Facebook Dating offers several advantages when it comes to vetting matches before you meet up in real life.
Mutual Connections
One of the best vetting features is being able to see how many Facebook friends or groups you and a match have in common. If you have several mutual connections, it establishes trust and legitimacy versus meeting a total stranger.
Knowing you have overlapping social circles helps qualify that this person is who they represent themselves to be. It prevents catfishing schemes and provides social accountability on both sides.
Digital Footprint
Having access to someone’s Facebook profile and activity provides a wealth of information when vetting them. You can scroll through years of posts, photos, check-ins and comments to get a sense of who they really are.
This digital footprint establishes a track record you just don’t get from a typical dating profile alone. Being able to research a match’s Facebook history makes it easier to detect any potential red flags or compatibility issues before investing time into dating them.
Ease of Access
Perhaps the simplest advantage to Facebook Dating is the ease of access it provides. With Facebook Dating built right into the Facebook app, there’s no need to download, set up and manage yet another dating app.
For those who already use Facebook regularly, it’s extremely convenient to have your dating life integrated into the same platform. Switching between social feeds and dating prospects is as easy as toggling between tabs in the app.
Existing User Base
By leveraging the millions of existing Facebook users, Facebook Dating has a built-in member base ready to mingle. Compared to niche dating sites that struggle to attract a consistent user base, Facebook Dating has no issue providing plenty of options.
The ubiquity of Facebook means you’re likely to find tons of singles in your area already on the platform and ready to connect. There’s no bootstrap phase trying to reach critical mass – Facebook’s dominance in social media means a continual influx of daters.
Time Saver
From setting up a simple dating profile using your existing Facebook data to chatting within the app, Facebook Dating is designed to be low-friction and easy. Since it’s tied to accounts people already use heavily, there’s practically no learning curve.
The efficiency of having dating conveniently within an app you’re already on makes the process less intimidating and saves tons of time over juggling multiple apps. For busy folks, Facebook Dating is the path of least resistance into the world of online dating.
Conclusion
Facebook Dating has quickly become a heavy hitter in online dating, and for good reason. The mix of leveraging your existing social graph, location-based matching, interest-based connections and easy access makes discovering romance more seamless than ever.
Whether you’re seeking your soulmate, casual dates or just want to expand your social circle, Facebook Dating provides a customized experience. Meeting compatible people for friendship, love and community has never been easier and more tailored to your specific needs and interests. At the end of the day, Facebook Dating harnesses the power of human connection under the hood of the world’s largest social network.