Online dating has been a game changer for India and in many ways has been an essential platform that has revealed what Indian’s truly think about dating while single or in a relationship.
Metrics analysed by Gleeden - an extramarital dating app show how trends related to dating and marriages have changed drastically especially since the app has now seen a surge in Indian users. Starting in 2023, Gleeden has achieved 10 million users worldwide out of which 2 million users alone come from India, which grew by 11% from September 2022. Most of the new subscribers come from Tier 1 cities (66%), while the rest (44%) come from Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
Being specifically designed for married people, the rise in Indian users on Gleeden reflects how the traditional concepts of monogamy are gradually changing in the country - a lot of which may also be consensual. An interesting factor to understand here is that most of these Indian users on Gleeden come from a high socio-economic environment. Both men and women are professionals like engineers, entrepreneurs, consultants, managers, executives, and physicians and also include a high number of housewives. As for age, men are mostly 30+ while women are 26+.
As more couples now accept open relationships or the fact that infidelity is not so rare anymore, Gleeden has studied some interesting reports. According to a national study, a few of the main reasons for committing infidelity include the urge of feeling passion and excitement anew (44%), lack of attention from the partner (42%), naturalisation of the concept of “open couple” (20%) – meaning that both partners agree to give some slack to the other in terms of sexual exclusivity – conflicts between the partner (23%) and falling in love with a third person (35%).
Speaking about the increase in Indian users, Sybil Shiddell, Country Manager India for Gleeden, shares, “India is a country that whilst worshipping marriages and monogamy, keeps growing as far as subscribers on the app. 2022 alone brought us + 18% new users, that went from 1.7 millions in December 2021 to the current 2+ millions. That doesn’t mean that marriages are doomed and that people should stop getting married. What is important is to understand that people and relationship dynamics change over time. Even if two people would respect and love each other, the spark in a relationship may die down over the years. With Gleeden, users get to live that adrenaline rush again and find the
happiness that may have been lost in a long-term relationship. Most of our subscribers treasure these virtual-only experiences and go back to their relationship with a new mindset and a fresh focus.”
A big contributor to the success of the app also lies in its strict privacy policies. It is designed to be extra safe for women and thus in 2023 stands at 40% female users as compared to 60% male users.
India, 16th Jan 2023
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