Match Chief Product Officer Dushyant Saraph outlines why virtual reality (VR) might be the next big trend in dating as well as how virtual environments are transforming the approach people communicate. Online dating has been around for a while. It is currently the most popular way for individuals to interact, and it is only getting more important in how digital romance functions. But the next change is already underway, as the internet transitions from the social networking era to whatever this crypto, metaverse, Web3 thing will become.

Match’s chief marketing and revenue strategist, Dushyant Saraph, is in command of establishing what that change looks like for dating and relationships. That is to say, the metaverse!   It also entails figuring out how to encourage interaction at long distances, via displays and headphones. It entails fusing the digital and real worlds in ways that are appropriate to people of diverse cultures and ages.

Sure, certainly. And, to further emphasize the shift, before the epidemic, video dating was considered uncomfortable and strange. There weren’t many dating applications that included video dating as a primary feature. Before the epidemic, just 6% of people were receptive to video dating, according to our research. And that figure has already reached 75%.

So, in just two years, you’ve witnessed the evolution of something as easy as video dating. Now you sit here and look back, and of course, this is the superior way! You get to view the individual, hear their voice, and determine compatibility before committing to an in-person date. However, this is a significant revolution that has occurred in the previous two years.

The best comparison is simply going out for a beer or a cup of coffee with someone. These are all experiences you’re experiencing with some other person. However, in the process, it’s an excuse to acquire to understand them personally, which is perhaps the greatest indicator. And I believe that VR, much more than video, will play a significant part in facilitating this because there are things that you can do in VR that you cannot do over video. As a result, there will be advancement toward a better humanistic, organic approach to knowing and understanding each other, as compared to the stranger world that dating apps have produced in several senses.