Facebook’s foray into the dating app world feels like something that should’ve happened a decade ago. Alas, Facebook lagged on this one, and now it has finally rolled out a product to compete with eHarmony, Match.com, and countless other dating sites and apps.
And the company—at least in the early stages—faces an uphill battle, according to a CivicScience study that asked over 1,800 Americans 18+ who are not currently in a relationship on their views of the product. To wit: Only 7% of Americans in the above cohort say they are at least “somewhat likely” to try the app. Worth noting – the amount of people saying they were “very likely” to use the Facebook dating app was statistically insignificant.
Not a great start, to be sure, but there are some real glimmers of hope. Notably, despite Facebook no longer being the coolest place to hang, 17% of Generation Z’ers who are not in a relationship say they are at least somewhat likely to give the dating app a try, a number that is 54% higher than Millennial singles and nearly three times higher than Generation X singles.
The biggest area where the Facebook app might make inroads? It’s outside of the strictly heterosexual community. Overall, only 6% of Americans 18+ who are not in a relationship and who identify as straight say they might try the dating platform. But people who don’t identify as heterosexual? A whopping 23% say they’re at least somewhat likely to see what Facebook has to offer.
Facebook may also have a little luck with the down on their luck; 29% of people who expect their personal financial situation to worsen over the next six months say they are at least somewhat likely to try Facebook for love.
Suburban folks are turned off by Facebook’s dating app, with city and rural dwellers both twice as likely to want to give the app a try.
Predictably, people who already use Facebook every day are nearly four times as likely to try the dating app.
Additionally, the more time someone spends on social media, the higher the likelihood they are to try Facebook’s dating app.
Lastly, as the following four tabbed charts show, Americans who have dabbled in other dating platforms are overwhelmingly more likely to try Facebook’s attempt at playing Cupid.
Does Facebook have a game-changer on its hands? Unlikely. But it’s certainly possible, based on early returns, it might unintentionally have found a niche among younger, non-heterosexual Americans.
