A peek into the “Millennial” world of dating

Being a Millennial in the 21st century comes with its own set of notions, ideas, and pattern of lifestyle. They are learning the lingos of Gen Z but are still stuck to their roots of the 20th century. When it comes to relationships and dating, they have seen it all. From passing chits to their Crush in classrooms to finding their Crush through online dating, millennials have been on a time-lapse in romantic relationships.




To understand if millennials are still waiting for the “Raj” or “Simran” of their dreams to come in their life or are directly talking to them through dating apps, happn, one of the leading international dating apps, conducted a survey to understand millennials’ dating behaviour.

Ms Alina Mustafina, Country Manager of India, said, “When it comes to online dating, millennials have their own language and preferences. Focusing on the same, we at happn wanted to understand dating and relationships from their lens; hence we conducted a survey to understand their communication, dating ideas, initiation of talk and views on live-in-relationships. The survey revealed some interesting insights about how they communicate with their partners and their views on modern-day relationships.”

Here are some of the insights that came from the survey:

Sirat Over Soorat

Gone are the days when “Chittiyiaan Kalayanian” was an attribute that one looked for in their potential partner. 28% of millennials believe that loyalty is the most important factor in dating, followed by 16% who believe emotional maturity is essential. With the new trend of slow dating and understanding each other emotionally, millennials place emotional well-being and sensitivity as a primary trait over physical appearance.

Love in the “Lingos”?

FYI, this doesn’t work for millennials. Around 61% of the respondents answered a “No” when asked about using lingos like HMU, TBH while talking to their Crush. Claiming it to be the Gen-Z thing, they would prefer using whole words instead of cool acronyms.

Kaise Batiayaye Tumse?

Millennials are the generation that understands the value of an SMS. This may sound alien to GEN-Z, but when there were no messaging apps, SMS played the cupid back then. Each message had its value due to the limited data pack, wherein either the lovers could say “Good morning” or “Goodnight”! Thus, the survey revealed that 63% of the respondents prefer texting when they start talking to someone initially. Also, 46% of respondents answered that they are more comfortable texting during online dating.

Patience is not the virtue here!

Indians are a firm believer in the concept of “Chat-Magni, Pat-Byaah” (a timed engagement and a wedding). When people want to get married when they have met someone nice, why would they shy away from meeting their Crush? 49% of millennials answered that they would like to meet their Crush within a week of talking and liking them. Reminds us of the age-old saying, “jab ladka ladki raazi, toh kya karega qaazi?”

The Perfect Date

The idea of the first date too has evolved; however, the core concept is still around the plane -jane yet a cute date with a cup of coffee. In the 2000s, sharing Aloo Patty and Coffee with tons of blushing was usually the first date. Coffee is still very much there, but the preferred spot is mostly coffee shops or modern-day cafes. For 58% of respondents, this is an ideal first date. Also, happn in the past saw that Coffee was the most loved item in the dating bios of their users in the app.

Also Read: ixigo acquires Hyderabad-based bus ticketing platform AbhiBus

Not so “Modern Family”

Unfortunately, Simran still cannot openly tell Baoji about her lover Raj. The survey revealed that only 11% of the users talked to their parents about their relationships and took their advice when faced with a problem in their love life. 82% of the respondents felt comfortable talking to their friends about their relationships and were their “go-to” person when it comes to relationship advice

Lovin’ and Live-in

Living with your partner before marriage is something that India is still catching up on. However, it is something that millennials do desire. 66% expressed that they would like to live with their loved one before getting married. Isn’t it better to know someone in a much more intimate manner before getting committed to a life-long relationship? Obviously, there are perks of cuddling with loved ones as well every day!

So, if you need dating advice, ones you know whom to approach cause the millennials have seen the best of both worlds!