India, 30 January 2026: Dating today is all about the little things people love - the music they vibe to, the food they crave, the sports and social scenes they keep coming back to. In fact, nearly 1 in 3 young singles in India say shared interests play a key role in forming connections.1
Bringing this to life, Tinder’s recent work across the North East (Guwahati, Shillong, Ziro Valley, among other places) tapped into the region’s strong sense of community and buzzing shared spaces. Through culture-led moments around music, festivals, and sports, Tinder showcased how shared interests naturally drive meaningful conversations, helping connections feel more natural and familiar, whether on Tinder or offline.
Where Shared Playlists Sets the Scene for Real Connections
Music emerged as a powerful shared interest shaping how conversations begin on Tinder, offering easy common ground - especially in the North East, where live music and festivals are deeply woven into local culture. This reflects broader dating trends across India, with Tinder data showing that 54% of young singles find shared interests like music more attractive in a match.2 Music also plays an emotional role in dating - 40% use it to express how they feel, while nearly one-third see music taste as a true reflection of personality.2 With concerts and karaoke ranking among popular first-date choices, live music spaces naturally become where conversations that start on the app continue in real life.
Post Malone Concert: At the much-anticipated Guwahati concert, Tinder brought in a little extra magic before the music even began. A playful balloon cart outside the venue invited singles to break the ice with cheeky prompts like “Wanna Sing Together?” and “Let’s Sing Together!”. While waiting to head in, these small, light-hearted moments sparked smiles, conversations, and easy connections - setting the tone for a night where meeting someone new felt just as fun and effortless as enjoying the concert together.
Ziro Festival: Music became the backdrop to a meaningful first meeting at this much-loved festival, where Tinder spotlighted creator Taksing Mangha’s real-life dating moment. Through her content, she captured the excitement of finally meeting someone she had been chatting with on Tinder for weeks. They bonded over music, local food, and the shared thrill of live performances. Set within the festival’s warm, community-led atmosphere, the story reflected how conversations that begin over shared interests on the app can seamlessly turn into real connections, making first meetings feel easy, comfortable, and full of possibility.
Game Days, Crowd Energy and Finding a “+1”
In cities like Shillong, sports bring people together long before introductions are made. The women’s and men’s sports events became a social moment shaped by shared cheers, team loyalties and the collective thrill of live play. It reflects how young India expresses itself on Tinder today, with sports ranking among the top five interests users choose to define their vibe.1
Riding this wave, Tinder brought its sports-led approach to women’s basketball in Guwahati, extending these community-first moments to another growing sporting space in the region.
At the men’s football match in Shillong, Tinder became part of the crowd experience through branded floor stickers, standees and playful on-ground prompts that encouraged interaction beyond the game. Tinder merchandise and influencer stories added to the match-day atmosphere, capturing the energy of the crowd and extending the moment beyond the venue.
That same energy carried through at the men’s basketball game in Shillong, where fast-paced play, cheering spectators and playful on-ground cues came together. Prompts placed around the court, including “You found the court, now find your +1” and “Dear Tinder, find me a plus one before the buzzer”, encouraged light-hearted interactions.
Local Voices, Food References and Everyday Humour
Alongside on-ground moments, Tinder collaborated with known regional creators to reflect how dating shows up in daily life. In Shillong, a meet-up with creator Gary Lu brought together members of the local community in a relaxed, social setting, featuring live influencer stories, merch distribution, and playful crowd interactions. The event was amplified through reels, stories and live moments, extending Tinder’s presence beyond the venue.
Tinder also rolled out a series of topical outdoor billboards across Guwahati and Shillong, drawing from seasonal cues, food references and local humour. They tapped into everyday nuances and cultural roots with lines like “When the chemistry is right, even bhut jolokia feels mild” and “Standing in a bhog queue? It’s better with a cutie!” tapped into everyday situations, keeping conversations around dating playful and culturally rooted.
Complementing this, a bunch of regional lifestyle influencers brought local culture and humour to life on Tinder. Audience-favourite content includes Merenla Imsong’s playful POV imagined the fun and quirks of connecting with a Naga girl, while Sukanya Boruah’s celebrated finding someone who speaks your flavour, turning shared local tastes into moments of connection. Nishita Baruah showcased just how easy it is to meet good Northeast boys, while Hikalia Chumi added her own twist on everyday dating moments. Through their content, creators extended Tinder’s presence across digital and social spaces, making local culture and everyday humour part of the conversation.
Together, these activities reflect Tinder’s approach to modern dating. By tapping into music, food, festivals, sports and social hangouts, Tinder’s recent work across the North East focused on enabling connections through shared experiences, allowing conversations to transition naturally from online interactions to real-world moments.
About Tinder
Launched in 2012, Tinder® revolutionized how people meet, growing from 1 match to one billion matches in just two years. This rapid growth demonstrates its ability to fulfill a fundamental human need: real connection. Today, the app has been downloaded over 630 million times, leading to over 100 billion matches, serving approximately 50 million users per month in 190 countries and 45+ languages - a scale unmatched by any other app in the category. In 2024, Tinder won four Effie Awards for its first-ever global brand campaign, It Starts with a Swipe™.
Tinder, Swipe, the flame logo, Face Check, and It Starts with a Swipe are all trademarks of Tinder LLC.
1Year in Swipe 2024: A survey of 4000 18-30 year olds who are actively dating in the US, UK, Canada and Australia between September 25, 2024 and November 4, 2024 conducted by OnePoll on behalf of Tinder
2A OnePoll Survey among Tinder users aged 18-25 in IN who are single and use dating apps. Data was collected between 15/7/2024 - 23/7/2024
