While dating apps were once considered the ultimate antidote to single life, there has been a wave of revolt against them in recent months as singletons look for new ways to find a partner.
From running clubs to inventive supermarket games, singletons are forever finding new ways to meet potential love interests – and the newest trend reintroduces formality to dating as people looking for love issue their suitors questionnaires via Google Forms and pay for targeted ads on social media.
The strange style of dating – which has gathered 19.6 million posts on TikTok – encourages individuals to find love matches by getting suitors to fill out Google Form quiz style Q&As.
It comes amid a growing trend of young people distancing themselves from dating apps, as 79 per cent of young people report being sick of swipe culture, according to a Forbes survey.
The concept is simple, rather than having to do the swiping yourself, a Google Form allows you to create a personalised questionnaire of all the things you might ask someone in the initial stages of a date or chat online.
People are trying to find relationships by getting potential suitors to fill out Goggle forms
As well as asking the obvious, such as age, location and career, the forms also love lusting singles to ask more specific questions or about ‘non-negotiables’ for a partner
As well as asking the obvious, such as age, location and career, the forms also allow singletons on the hunt for love to ask more specific questions about a partner, or what their ‘non-negotiables’ are.
Some Google form addicts looking for love have recently gone one step further, swapping swiping for the less complicated approach of attaching their ‘relationship applications’ to social media adverts.
Some hopeful singletons have opted to make themselves known by placing sponsored adverts on Instagram and Facebook of themselves attached to a Google form with information about themselves, and a place to offer details if interested.
‘I feel like this is one of the most clever uses of ad targeting,’ one TikToker said discussing the self-promotional Google forms.
In 2021, Business Insider reported that one young lady, Philippa Wilson, had received 505 responses in 24 hours after posting a ‘bae application’ Google form on social media.
It was reported that Philippa, 28 at the time, curated a list of questions which she then took online, sharing a list of X, formerly known as Twitter, in the hopes of finding her true love.
The millennial had compiled a list of her ‘non-negotiables’ and asked questions for her suitors to see who met her standards. For example, Philippa didn’t want a smoker so added a question about in her form, so she could tease out people who were not matches.
She also asked a number of questions about their lifestyles and hobbies, as well as requesting their social media handles so she could check their appearances before meeting.
Two weeks after her initial applications, Philippa, who is from Jamaica, had filtered down to 33 suitors, later whittling it down to 10 after an initial brief conversation online to discover compatibility.
She then discovered there were only four in her native Jamaica and continued to chat to and refine her suitors.
The concept is simple, rather than having to do the swiping yourself, a Google forum allows you to create a personalised questionnaire of all the things you might ask someone in the initial stages of a date or chat online
One TikToker received a positive response from viewers after she requested her partner fill out a ‘current satisfaction’ form
Others have also joined in on the ‘post-date survey’. One TikToker (pictured) joked that she didn’t know ‘how to communicate like a normal person’
She told the publication that she would recommend the unusual style of dating.
She said: ‘I definitely would recommend it, even if it’s just on the basis of knowing who’s out there and being more active in our love lives and the love life we want— especially since this method is totally customisable.’
And the trend isn’t just being used to find matches, but is being used by people who’ve already been on dates, for their potential partners to ‘review’ them.
After going on the date, individuals will send a Google form asking for a non-confrontational ‘review’ of how it went.
In one clip, an American man, Moe Poolo, explained that he had been using the technique, sending the form to ‘every girl I’ve ever been on a date with,’ in the hopes of receiving ‘constructive feedback’.
He said his aim was to improve his dating ability so he could go on to have ‘successful dates moving forward’.
His questionnaire included questions about his hair, outfit, location, banter and whether he ‘smelled’.
He explained: ‘The reason being is that I went on a date with this girl and I thought it went really well and then she kind of disappeared and I’m sitting here thinking, did I do something, did I say something, did I dress weird, what was the vibe?’
After finding out from his date that the disappearance wasn’t to do with him, Moe said he wanted to ‘find a way to get away with this without making it awkward’ and so had the idea to send a list of questions.
Others using the Google form template to bolster their love lives also revealed using it to find out ‘what went wrong’ with exes, and even one to discover ‘relationship satisfaction’ in current relationships.
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