Lovehoney Asked ChatGPT To Guess The Next Hot Dating Trends & The Results Are Too Real
Love has always been complicated, but it's even more complicated when you're trying to keep up with the constantly evolving dating trends. Some trends help you be on the lookout for toxic techniques — think ghosting or one of its new incarnations, like fizzling. Others offer inspiration when your love life needs a boost — ethical sex-ploration, anyone?
However, it can be hard to predict dating trends until they've already become a thing. In other words, you might only realize that a passive-aggressive phenomenon is becoming mainstream after you've been burned by it multiple times, or you may only notice a new dating movement once it's already been adopted by several of your friends.
Thankfully, you don't need a crystal ball to uncover future dating trends — you might only need help from an AI chatbot. Lovehoney, an online sexual goods retailer, consulted ChatGPT to find out which trends may be set to take over the world of dating next. Here are the amusing and all-too-real AI-generated predictions.
ChatGPT forecasted eight up-and-coming dating trends
When Lovehoney turned to ChatGPT for a list of new dating trends, the chatbot offered up eight possibilities, ranging from novel first date ideas to a unique way to choose compatible partners. And like most dating trends nowadays, ChatGPT assigned a cute and catchy name to each of its predictions.
First up: Social Fitness. According to the AI bot, this trend involves going on a fitness-focused first date. If hitting the gym with a crush isn't your thing, perhaps Pet Parenting is. "Given the growing popularity of pets, there might be a rise in pet parenting, where people go on dates with their pets, or even meet other pet owners for dates with their furry friends," ChatGPT explained. For a more low-maintenance date (read: no hopping on a treadmill or picking up dog poop), Snack Dating may be up your alley. This trend is "all about keeping things low-key and not putting too much pressure on the date" by grabbing a quick coffee or small bite to eat.
The chatbot also forecasted a shift toward Anti-Social Media dating, where people ditch dating apps and social media platforms in favor of IRL meet-ups, as well as Slow Romance, where daters deliberately take things slow. Rounding out ChatGPT's predictions are Solodating (taking yourself on solo dates), Ghost Seasoning (temporarily ghosting before reappearing later), and Smell Dating (deciding who's "the one" based on their scent).
Which predictions will stick?
Considering ChatGPT lacks personal dating experience, some of its predictions may not translate to the real world. For example, Smell Dating is highly unlikely to take off, unless daters are willing to sniff each other on the first date.
However, many of the chatbot's trend ideas are totally plausible, if not already unfolding in the world of dating. For example, the concept of Solodating isn't new, nor is Snack Dating. Anti-Social Media is also already on the rise, as more singles are reverting back to a tried-and-true way to meet others by striking up offline meet-cutes. Ghost Seasoning is another trend you may be familiar with, though you likely know it as "zombieing."
Perhaps the real trend here is using ChatGPT for dating advice and insights. Besides Lovehoney, others have reached out to the AI model for help navigating the choppy waters of romance. Online dating platform OkCupid embraced the chatbot by letting it write some of the app's matching questions. Some singles are also using the tool to write their profiles and messages on dating apps, such as TikTok user and "Tinder veteran" @ekoastoic. As for how useful ChatGPT really is to finding love, only time will tell.