Singles explore a Thursday Events singles night at Baby Grand LES, Nov. 13, 2025. (Credit: Amalia Wompa)
Generation Z is growing tired of the superficial swipes on traditional dating apps. Many young adults are instead trying out new singles’ apps that curate in-person experiences to meet a possible match.
Sometimes referred to as “digital natives,” 91% of men and 94% of women users on Tinder agree that dating has become more difficult according to a 2024 Tinder study. Whether this is due to the popularity of dating apps is up for debate, with 45% of Gen Z users report experiencing frustration and hopelessness while using dating apps according to a 2025 Loyola University study.
“I still think the best way to meet someone is through mutual friends or work,” said Nikolay Sudarikov, a single millennial in New York City. “Dating online would be my second option,” he said.
Unlike Sudarikov, many Gen Z singles have never dated in a world where apps like Tinder or Hinge, which allow users to make quick choices based mostly on photos, never existed. For some, online dating has felt like it has shifted from a fun option, to being the only option.
Searching for connection, Sudarikov opted to try new platforms, like Thursday Events, that take him to in-person parties where he can meet a variety of people. In a culture that has gotten so used to connecting with others virtually, finding love offline holds greater value and has become a more intentional approach.
Thursday Events and CitySwoon, another new entrant in the field, allow singles to sign up for different parties in their area without seeing who’s attending. Users pick an age group, theme, and location, for example an ugly-sweater party in Alphabet City or a dinner at the Tommy Bahama Restaurant in Midtown. Venues can range from local bars and arcades to ski trips in France.
Thursday Events, which is based in London, was originally a dating app only accessible on Thursdays to encourage spontaneous plan-making.
George Rawlings and Matthew McNeill Love, launched the company as ‘Thursday,’ in 2021. The app garnered more than two million users over its lifetime and boasts 29 babies as a result of connections made on their app. In early 2025, the company responded to the declining popularity of traditional dating apps by shifting full focus to event planning. Now rebranded as Thursday Events, it hosts singles parties in nearly 150 cities around the world.
Meanwhile, Amata, an AI matchmaking app, was released in New York City in September 2025.
Amata has a similar model to Thursday Events. The location, time and theme is all determined by a virtual AI matchmaker, except now, a user meets with them for the first time one on one at the date. Ludovic Huraux, the founder, said the project raised $6 million before being tested.
Meanwhile CitySwoon, based in Sydney, Australia, and released in 2014, is active in more than 30 major cities across the world. CitySwoon gained traction in the United States and New York.
While companies like Thursday Events, CitySwoon, and Amata are nowhere near tackling dating app giants like Hinge or Tinder, their efforts are indicative of what younger generations desire.
Dating apps, although at first revolutionary for the busy professional or single parent, have faded in popularity. A 2024 study published on ResearchGate analyzed the effects of dating app use in young participants over 12 weeks and found that emotional exhaustion only increased over time. 38.1% of participants even experienced symptoms consistent with clinical depression.
Anna Morgenstern, who has worked as a matchmaker and dating coach in New York City for eight years, said that the new apps are benefiting from a number of shifts in behavior and entertainment.
“I think Gen Z is yearning. They don’t have the same examples we did,” said Morgenstern.
“Dating apps were like a novelty. It was fun. I don’t think the intended side effects were to be people hiding behind their phones, and not making connections in person as easily.”
Morgenstern, a millennial, said that her generation’s dating lives revolved around alcohol and meeting people at bars. Now, with only one in four young adults reported to be frequent drinkers according to a long-term Gallup survey, they need other activities and locations to foster connection instead.
Statistically, millennials born between 1981 and 1996, and older Gen Z adults born between 1997 and 2000, make up the majority of Tinder’s consumer base. The entire spectrum of Gen Z includes those born between 1997 and 2012, which makes up 21% of Tinder’s consumer base, according to data from Resourcera, a market research site. Tinder’s revenue plateaued in 2024, with a 7% decline in paying users, according to internal data from its parent company, Match Group.
This downward slide at Tinder reflects a wider generational shift identified by Morgenstern. A 2025 study by Hims found that Gen Z values meeting people naturally more than other age groups. Even though nearly a quarter say they found their partners through dating apps, many dislike the superficiality.
With attitudes shifting around online dating, Tinder and Bumble have felt the hit and are looking for options. Bumble laid off 30% of its employees last June. Match Group followed, cutting 13% of its workforce and citing declines among Gen Z users as a primary reason. In a letter to shareholders, Match Group said it would focus on this age group to bolster profits. The company said paying users have continuously declined since 2023. Its stock dropped 7% in October, and is down nearly 80% from its peak in October 2021.
In response to softening demand, Bumble has added filters for universities to help college students easily find others on campus. Similarly, Tinder and Hinge have experimented with a double date feature where users and a friend can match with two people instead of one to form a group experience.
Through these and other efforts, Tinder will continue to experiment with ways to draw young users, Cleo Long, the company’s senior director for global product marketing, told Business Insider.
“If we’re seeing this working for Gen Z, let’s give them more of what they’re asking for,” Long said.
Josh Mocklin, a 21-year-old Fordham University student, uses Hinge and apps such as Raya, a dating app for public figures, creatives and celebrities, but said he has become less intentional with them over time.
“I feel like every conversation I have on Raya or Hinge burns out and leads to talks of getting drinks soon that rarely happen,” he said. When asked about singles-event apps that prioritize in-person interaction, he responded,. “That sounds like it could be fun.”
Thursday Events currently hosts singles events in more than 150 cities across the U.S., and in 2024, demand grew enough for the platform to host international trips to Bali, the French Alps and Croatia. The only requirement: the user has to be single.
At a local Thursday event in New York City on a November evening, a host scanned tickets and handed out bright pink wristbands to attendees. At Baby Grand on the Lower East Side, singles ages 21 to 35 mingled under dim lights as the night slowly built. Some nervously sipped their drinks, while others who arrived with friends picked karaoke tracks to sing. Although the event began at 8 p.m., the room didn’t fully fill until 10 p.m., giving attendees time to settle in and start conversations.
Although Sudarikov didn’t feel sparks with anyone, it was a new experience that made way for good conversations.
About the author(s)
Amalia Wompa is a multimedia journalist at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism who specializes in stories on nightlife and extreme sports. She is from Sleepy Hollow, NY.