We have always been told that for a relationship to last you have to live with your best friend. A fable that could become reality this year. The dating app Happn looked at the new trends in dating and it appears that users of the app want to create a friendly base before getting into a relationship. But it seems that the friendzone is no longer a forbidden territory. Something to rejoice our friends who are a little desperate not to find love.
Friend. e before being a lover
“Today, dating application users no longer want a huge quantity of profiles to explore… They want to find the right people to meet,” explains Claire Rénier, spokesperson for Happn, “by questioning our users in Brazil, India , Belgium and France, we realize that singles have less time to make dates, they will therefore do less and above all go more slowly,” adds the apps specialist. It is true that between work, friends and activities, making time to find love is becoming more and more complicated, “so when application users meet, they will want to discuss their values and their desires… Instead of immediately planning a relationship, the trend we note is that single people already want to get to know each other in a friendly way” confides Claire Rénier.
The average age of the application’s users is 26 years old. A young population therefore but which has already had a romantic experience for the most part, “with experience we learn lessons from the past and we realize that in love, when we go too quickly it leads to setbacks”, explains Soazig Castelnérac, creator of Amour Très.
Slowly but surely
Before getting into a relationship at the end of 2024, Romane had a series of disappointments, “before I always went very quickly on applications. Basically, I was writing messages all the time and I needed to see the boy quite often. This way of doing things never worked so I decided to take my time, to have less formal dates by going, for example, to play board games in bars or arcades. We saw each other once or twice a month but it was quite cool not to put pressure on ourselves to be a couple,” smiles the young woman who adds that she had some concerns… “I was afraid that this relationship would go into trouble. there friendzonebut in truth we just took the time to know each other well enough to avoid unpleasant surprises… We had time to talk about our values, environment and politics without being afraid of creating a couple argument since we wasn’t together.
85% of Happn users say they are looking for a love story and 64% of them believe that friendship is the key to lasting love. “For a couple to succeed, you have to take time to get to know each other. At every stage the weather is good. You even have to take care of it. » explains the creator of Amour Très. But when we talk about time “that doesn’t necessarily mean “going slow”. It’s also about giving yourself the time and, above all, the energy to communicate and discover yourself. » adds the specialist. In 2025 we therefore avoid believing in love at first sight, we trust in time… As Soazig Catelnérac says very well, “It’s beautiful to say that you fell in love at first sight. But the truth is it takes time to fully know and fall in love. »
