The online dating scene has gone far from swiping right or swiping left. Today, there is a plethora of dating apps giving users unique experiences in finding someone new to connect with. In 2021, the number of worldwide dating app users breached the 300-million mark. Expect this number to rise even faster as more advanced technology paves the way for dating in the metaverse.
With faster connectivity and more affordable AR and VR hardware, the metaverse is becoming more mainstream. More people are now able to explore what it has to offer and begin to integrate it into their lives. In the dating scene, it opens a huge potential for people to build relationships with those who share their interests and passions.
Fostering Real Connection While Dating Online
While virtual dating is now widely accepted, people are still wary of the connections they make using dating apps. There’s still this fear of being misled by people misrepresenting themselves, falling victim to harassment, or getting exposed to sexual predators. However, advances in technology, including artificial intelligence and machine learning, are enabling apps to strengthen their systems and protect their users.
Zach Schleien, founder and CEO of the virtual dating platform Filteroff, foresees dating in the metaverse as the future norm before people meet in person. While he thinks the metaverse is not advanced enough to provide an authentic dating experience today, he believes that it will eventually be the most efficient medium to connect with others prior to meeting up in real life.
The Need for More Advanced Technologies
While we see the potential of fostering authentic experiences through virtual dating, the metaverse today needs more time to mature. Technologies that will effectively power metaverse platforms and equipment required for truly immersive mixed reality experiences are still emerging.
Potential threats such as catfishing, insecure authentication, identity theft, and misleading avatars or information must also be addressed. But with fast-paced developments in the industry, we expect authentic dating in the metaverse to be no longer in a far-off future.
The Future of Dating in the Metaverse
With the rise of the metaverse, people can discover more of each other’s personalities in a safer virtual space before connecting in real life. Avatars may be artificial, but the emotions you feel while interacting in the metaverse are pretty much the same as how you’d feel when people are in your personal space. In this sense, there will be a blurry line between dating online and dating in real life.
Dating in the metaverse will usher in a new era of virtual dating. Apps powered by advanced technologies will enable people to create real human connections in safe and secure virtual environments. The audio will be spatial. The video will be immersive. And video dating will change as we know it. Dating in the metaverse will make it possible to find real love online.
