“Check out the profile and if you like it, send a note. My heart beats even at this age waiting for an answer.”
Shinmo (75), who lives in Chungju, Chungcheongbuk-do, accesses a dating app every day these days. Mr Shin, who lost his wife 25 years ago, saw an internet ad and signed up for this app which operates under the nickname ‘Waterwheel’. Mr. Shin said, “I was lonely because I lived alone, so I signed up for the app, but I’m dating and making friends.” We broke up,” he said.
An increasing number of older people are trying to date in the twilight through dating apps that were considered limited to the 20s and 30s. This is due to the fact that ‘meeting places’ such as colatec for the elderly were closed during the corona period, and as the baby boom generation reached the elderly, the smartphone penetration rate of these generations increased significantly. According to the results of the survey on the condition of the elderly published by the Seoul Metropolitan Government on the 6th, 83.7% of 3010 men and women aged 65 or older said they use a smartphone.
In fact, on the 12th of last month, when the reporter accessed a dating app, about 10 notes came in within 5 minutes. When I clicked on nicknames that reminded me of my age, like ‘Ondal Shrine’ and ‘Mansa Hyeongtong’, more than half of the people who sent me notes were 66 to 75 years old. When I accessed the app again on the 2nd, 27 of the 70 ‘members online within 1 minute’ were aged 65 or over. Of these, 20 were men and 7 were women. Na-mo (71), whom I met on this app, said, “I have been divorced from my wife for 30 years, but I have no intention of remarrying because of my age, and I signed up because I wanted to met a woman I liked casually.” Ms. No said, “I get upset when I receive a note from a woman who thinks it’s fine, and just like when I was young, I’ n waiting for a reply.”
In response to this demand, even dating apps for seniors and senior citizens are emerging. A dating app for the elderly, launched in October last year, was not much different from dating apps like ‘Tinder’, which are mainly used by young people. This app, which can only be registered by the over 50s, recommends people with similar interests who live nearby, and like Tinder, you and your partner can chat if you ‘steal’ your each other To prevent voice phishing targeting the elderly, there is also a ‘customised feature’ which allows users to call each other using virtual phone numbers. This app is said to have created 100 twilight couples in just three months after its launch.
