All The Dating Trends You Need To Know For 2024

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As time goes on, so do dating trends. Long gone are the days of ghosting being the worst thing that can happen when you’re trying to meet someone new. Now we’ve got to contend with a whole host of other issues like bread-crumbing, submarining, cloaking… the list goes on. But it’s not all doom and gloom; trends may come and go but sometimes they may be a good indicator of what to expect going forward. 

To mark the New Year, dating apps Bumble and Plenty of Fish have compiled a comprehensive list of dating trends they expect to be fairly big for 2024. Jade Hayden has picked out some of her favourites that she could easily see being fairly significant for this year. So go forth, meet some new people, and smash the date-riarchy while you’re at it! 

Reno-dating 

New year, new you. If that’s a mantra you live by, you might want to dive into the world of ‘reno-dating.’ Take stock of your dating life, consider what’s been working for you (and what hasn’t been working) and renovate your love life. Refresh your dating habits the same way you would your bedroom or your home, and marvel in the results! 

Val-Core Dating 

For many people, it’s important to take an interest in politics – and for next year, it looks like that’s set to be even more important in the dating realm too. Apparently, 25% of people are turned off if a potential partner doesn’t engage with social causes and politics, with women being far less likely to date someone if their political beliefs don’t align. Fair! 

Canon-Bailing 

No, it’s not cancelling a date last minute (that’s just bad form). In fact, canon-bailing is all about realising that you want to take a moment to focus on yourself. This could come about thanks to a ‘canon event,’ or a moment of significance that makes you realise you want to bail on dating for the time being and focus on the most important person in your life – you. 

Rizz Coloured Glasses

You’ve heard of rose coloured glasses, but have you heard of rizz coloured glasses? How many times have you ended up on a fifth or sixth date only to realise that you don’t actually like this person at all, you just fell for their rizz. Everyone likes a little charm, but if that’s all they’ve got going for them, it’s probably not worth it. 

Intuitive Intimacy 

Becoming intimate has moved far beyond simply having sex, and 2024 is going to prove it! Emotional intelligence is becoming super important for singletons, with many hoping to date someone who can be open, honest, and vulnerable with them. Gone are the days of seeing someone and refusing to talk about your feelings – and thank god for that! 

Contra-dating 

Contradicting yourself may just be the best thing you do this year! If dating within your ‘type’ hasn’t been serving you all that well, why not consider dating those you’d usually pass on? Maybe it’s time to move beyond the sad indie boys who won’t text back…

Smashing the Date-riarchy 

Tired of adhering to society’s expectations about what kind of relationships you should have, and who you should have them with? Me too. It’s time to smash the date-riarchy (get it?) and defy all that you’ve been told about romance. Date for fun, date for The One, date however you want to date! 

Vision Board Dating 

Where my manifesting girls at? VBD (or vision board dating) is set to be all the rage this year, and there may be more to it than simply throwing something out to the universe and hoping for the best. Rather than simply fantasising about your ideal partner, why not hop onto Pinterest and document your thoughts? Just make sure your account’s on private, obviously… 

Consider-Date 

How many times have you been eager to find The One, only to go on a looong string of dates with sub-par people that left you feeling deflated, frustrated, and even more alone than you were before? Probably a lot, tbh. Why not consider consider-dating in 2024? Step back, think about what you actually want, and focus on quality over quantity. There’s no point in stacking several dates in one week if they’re all going to disappoint you. 

FOSO 

Forget FOMO, FOSO is what you’ve got to look out for this year. All across the country, couples are suffering from Fear Of Starting Over. They’ve been together for so long, they’re desperately unhappy, but can’t face breaking up and entering back into the dating pool. In fairness, it’s daunting, so I get it – but nothing’s worse than staying with someone just because you’re afraid of being single. 

Hottie Desking 

Calling all co-workers who have ever hooked up and never spoken of it again – how’d you feel about making it official? Now that we’re all back in the office more, it may be time to start taking stock of who you work with, and whether you’d like to take things further than the photocopier. 

Investi-dating 

Admit it, you’ve sufficiently lurked a potential partner on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and even LinkedIn before you met them. We’ve all done it (and some of us are very good at it), and now it appears as if this investi-dating trend may become quite popular indeed in 2024. Just make sure you’ve got a premium account for all your LinkedIn lurking. 

Premature Intimacy (PMI)

Talking about an ex on a first date isn’t the worst thing you could do, but talking about how an ex was toxic and awful and all but ruined your life on a first date? Not the best first impression. But hey, apparently oversharing is going to be all the rage on the dating scene this year, so maybe we should just lean into it. 

Crypt-ick 

No, no one wants to hear about your love of cryptocurrency, please stop mentioning it. There are a lot of topics that are an immediate ick on a first date – gym activities, how much money you make, and BitCoin, to name but a few. There are plenty of things to chat about the first time you meet someone. Don’t give them the crypt-ick. 

This article first appeared in the Jan/Feb 2024 issue of STELLAR magazine. 

• 2024
• Dating