INDIA (December 6, 2023): Tinder’s Year in Swipe is back, sharing the State of the Date in 2023, including the trends, terms, and tunes singles leaned into while splashing around the dating pool. Overall, daters were less concerned about where their relationships were headed and more interested in creating opportunities to have new memorable experiences.

The year was marked by overarching themes of positivity, optimism, and a focus on bettering one’s self through making connections with others. Even the most used emoji on Tinder denoted this “always on” attitude among singles1. Also, reflecting pop culture and the power of music in bringing people together, the buzzy anthems bopping on Tinder all came from powerful female pop stars, like Taylor Swift, Miley, and Rihanna.     

Singles fully embraced “main character energy” in 2023. They ditched the pressure of rushing to a “happily ever after” in favor of using the dating process to build a roster of new experiences and memories that bolstered their own personal stories. This refreshingly optimistic and lighthearted approach to making new connections took the pressure off establishing relationship labels and outcomes, leaving more room for self-exploration through dating.

The shift to utilizing dating as a source of self-fulfillment gave rise to the top dating trends of the year: Not Attached To an Outcome (N.A.T.O)  Dating and Dating For The Plot: 

Not Attached To an Outcome (N.A.T.O)  dating, as the name suggests, refers to singles who are less concerned about the outcome of a relationship and more interested in enjoying the process of getting to know someone.

Dating “For the Plot,” denotes that dating was more about the journey and less about “the end” in 2023. Singles were open to meeting new people to have new experiences and fun stories to tell, rather than taking a traditional goal-oriented approach.

“It’s so exciting to see the data at Tinder shows that 69% of Gen Z want to challenge conventional dating and relationship norms.2 This year in particular marked a major shift where the journey is more important than the outcome. This new generation of daters is showing us what it means to date for the possibilities, freeing themselves from traditional expectations, allowing them to write their own, worthwhile stories.” said Melissa Hobley, Chief Marketing Officer at Tinder.

Here’s a look back at what was hot on Tinder in 2023!