Hinge Bets $1M on In-Person Events As Part Of Growing Movement Away From Online Dating

Young daters have a clear message for online dating platforms: It’s time to touch grass. 

Hinge is listening. In March, the dating platform invested $1 million in a new initiative aimed at helping daters make in-person connections. 

The money will support approximately 100 social groups and dating events in New York, L.A., and London. It will also help to make these events low-cost or free to participants. 

There’s a social event theme for every dater, from low-key reading clubs to cooking classes to energetic outdoor adventures. 

Josh Penny, Hinge’s social impact director, explained how the dating app’s expansion into in-person events has helped young daters strengthen their “social muscles,” as he put it. 

Social activities can help Gen Z daters stave off social anxiety, too, he said. “Instead of hearing ‘come make friends,’ it’s ‘come try surfing, come try skateboarding, come try poetry.’”

This investment is Hinge’s most recent foray into in-person dating events. 

The dating app has previously made large-scale efforts to address the ever-present “loneliness epidemic” affecting Gen Z daters today, particularly with its One More Hour program. 

‘One More Hour’ Vs. The Loneliness Epidemic 

The One More Hour program, which launched in 2024, is focused on bringing young people together in person instead of just online. 

The dearth of in-person connections has had a noticeable impact on younger generations, so much so that the U.S. Surgeon General officially named it a “loneliness epidemic” in 2023. 

Young daters are more enthusiastic about in-person connections than they’ve been in years; in fact, a 2024 Forbes Health Survey found that 79% of surveyed Gen Zers are experiencing dating app burnout. 

Take a look at the general downturn in dating app downloads for evidence of Gen Z’s burnout. 

With One More Hour, Hinge gives young daters the tools they need to make a smooth transition into IRL dating.  

The people behind One More Hour know that Gen Z daters haven’t grown up in a very social environment. 

“This generation grew up in a period where their core, late teenage years, and early 20s, were spent in a lockdown pandemic situation,” Hinge’s president and chief marketing officer, Jackie Jantos, told CNBC. 

Because of this, some daters need extra encouragement when it comes to socializing, both platonically and romantically. 

Hinge invites Gen Z daters who are struggling with anxiety and loneliness to text ‘BELONG’ to 741741. They’ll be connected to a volunteer counselor from Crisis Text Line.