78% of users report burnout. The average person spends 51 minutes a day swiping. Even Tinder is quietly launching in-person events. Here is why the model is breaking and what replaces it.
We don't need more matches. We need more reasons to actually meet.
— Jeff Wulkan, Founder & CEO of Plus 1
78% of dating-app users report burnout. Match Group and Bumble both lost paying subscribers in 2025. Tinder is quietly rolling out in-person Events in 26 cities. The industry is signaling what users have already figured out: the swipe-match-message model is broken, and what comes next is plans-first.
Let's just say what a lot of people are already thinking: dating apps are exhausting.
Swipe. Swipe. Swipe. Get a match. Send a message. Get no response. Start the same conversation you've had 20 times before.
Or maybe you run out of likes. Want more? Pay. Want to see everyone who liked you? Upgrade. Want more visibility? There's another upgrade for that.
Somewhere along the way, online dating started feeling less like meeting people and more like a part-time job with in-app purchases. And people are getting tired of it.
This isn't just internet complaining.
A Forbes Health/OnePoll survey of 1,000 Americans who had recently used dating apps found that 78% experienced dating-app burnout at least sometimes, including 79% of Gen Z and 80% of Millennials.
Users cited difficulty finding a genuine connection, disappointment, rejection, repetitive conversations, swiping itself, and the sheer amount of time spent on dating apps as contributors to burnout.
That's almost six hours every week looking at profiles, matching, messaging and hoping one of those interactions eventually turns into actually meeting someone.
And therein lies the problem. We don't need more matches. We need more reasons to actually meet.
There's something psychologically strange about reducing human beings to cards on a screen.
You see a few photos, a job title, a height, maybe a witty prompt about someone's love of tacos and traveling, and within seconds you're supposed to decide: yes or no?
Then comes another profile. And another. And another.
When there is seemingly always someone else one swipe away, it's easy to start treating people like options rather than people. Instead of wondering, "could I actually have a great time with this person?" we start wondering, "could the next profile be better?"
The technology gives us more choices than humans have ever had before. Ironically, all that choice doesn't necessarily make connecting any easier.
Dating apps are businesses. There's nothing inherently wrong with that. But as anyone who has spent time on them knows, the free experience can quickly start feeling like an introduction to the paid experience.
Want more likes? Upgrade. Want to see who liked you? Upgrade. Want your profile seen by more people? Buy a boost. Want additional filters or premium features? There's probably another subscription tier waiting for you.
And when you're already frustrated because you aren't getting the matches or responses you want, being repeatedly offered another paid feature can make the whole experience feel even more transactional.
The business numbers themselves show an industry going through a transition.
Dating apps aren't disappearing tomorrow. But something is clearly changing.
While people are getting tired of living through their phones, something else is happening: people want to go out and do things again.
Run clubs. Wellness events. Dinner parties. Fitness classes. Coffee meetups. Pickleball. Music festivals. House music. Hiking groups. Art classes. Sober events. Community gatherings.
Eventbrite reported in 2026 that 49% of Gen Z and Millennials want live experiences to feel less curated and more real, while phone-free experiences on its platform were up 567% globally.
There's even been what Axios recently called a "meetup explosion," particularly among younger Americans looking for lower-pressure ways to connect with other people in real life.
People aren't losing interest in meeting people. They may be losing interest in meeting people by endlessly swiping through them.
Perhaps one of the clearest signs of where things are heading comes from Tinder itself.
In 2026, Tinder launched an Events feature designed specifically to help people discover experiences happening around them and connect in real life.
After initially testing it in Los Angeles, Tinder announced an expansion into additional cities, with plans for 26 markets by September.
And look at the kinds of experiences Tinder says people responded to: ceramics classes, brunches, hikes, fun runs, game nights, live music and coffee socials.
Sound familiar?
Even one of the companies that helped define swipe culture is recognizing that people increasingly want something more natural: give me something to do. Give me a reason to show up. Let the connection happen from there.
Plus 1 starts from a completely different place.
Instead of: "here's a person, do you like them?" It starts with: "here's something I want to do. Who wants to do it with me?"
Maybe you want someone to join you at a music festival this weekend. Maybe you want to try a new sushi restaurant tonight. Maybe you're looking for someone to play golf with Saturday morning. Maybe your favorite DJ is coming to town and none of your friends listen to house music. Maybe you're traveling alone. Maybe you want a date. Maybe you're married and simply looking for another couple to hang out with.
That's the point. The plan comes first.
You post what you want to do, other people can request to join, and you decide who you'd like to meet.
It can be one-on-one or a small group. It can be friendship, networking or dating. You don't have to spend three days swiping and messaging just to discover whether someone wants to do the same thing you already wanted to do.
Dating apps solved an important problem: they gave us access to people we otherwise might never have met. But access isn't the same thing as connection.
After years of swiping, matching, ghosting, messaging and starting over, people seem hungry for something simpler and more human.
Go somewhere. Do something. Meet someone.
Maybe you become friends. Maybe there's chemistry. Maybe you make a business connection. Maybe you never see each other again but have a great night. That's real life.
And perhaps the next era of social technology isn't about keeping us on our phones longer. Maybe it's about giving us a reason to put them down.
78% of Americans who recently used dating apps report burnout at least sometimes, including 79% of Gen Z and 80% of Millennials. The main causes cited are difficulty finding genuine connection, repetitive conversations, rejection, and the sheer amount of time spent (average 51 minutes per day).
Yes. Match Group (which owns Tinder) reported its paying users declined 5% in 2025. Bumble reported an 11.5% decline for the year, with Q4 paying users down more than 20% year over year. The paid-subscriber base is shrinking as users seek alternatives.
Plans-first apps like Plus 1 flip the model. Instead of matching on profiles and then trying to plan something, you post the plan first (dinner Friday, run Saturday, concert Sunday) and connect with someone who wants to do the same thing. The activity is the starting point, not the aftermath of dozens of messages.
Yes. In 2026, Tinder launched a Tinder Events feature to help people meet in real life. After testing in Los Angeles, they're expanding into 26 markets by September. Categories include ceramics classes, hikes, brunches, run clubs, game nights, and coffee socials — a clear industry signal.
Plus 1 is the plans-first social app for dating, friends, and networking. Free on iOS and Android.
Download Plus 1 →