"5060 Also Seek Love"... 'Dating Apps' Used by Middle-Aged and Older Adults

Dating applications (apps) that gained popularity among younger generations are spreading to middle-aged and older adults. Experts welcome the emergence of dating apps amid the growing social issue of loneliness among people in their 50s and 60s, but they also express concerns about the potential misuse of these apps for crimes such as fraud and unethical encounters.

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According to related industries on the 2nd, the number of subscribers to dating apps targeting middle-aged and older adults is rapidly increasing. A leading domestic chat app for middle-aged users exceeded 17,000 monthly users last year. Another senior dating app, launched in November last year with keywords like shared hobbies and clubs, surpassed 20,000 subscribers within about a year of its launch. The average monthly number of users also reached 7,000.

Senior dating apps connect members with similar interests based on basic information such as age and location, as well as common hobbies like hiking and dancing, facilitating meetings. The 'group leader,' who represents each gathering, announces the meeting place and time based on various hobbies. Members whose schedules match can freely join by clicking the 'Attend' button and leaving comments on the posts. When accessing one senior dating app, several gatherings such as 'Wine Party,' 'Learning Drums,' and 'Bangkok·Pattaya Trip' were being held. The comment sections had many people expressing their wish to attend.

Experts expect dating apps to function as a new recreational culture for middle-aged and older adults. They also see dating apps as one way to help form new relationships amid the serious social problem of loneliness experienced by this age group. According to the 'Social Integration Survey' published this year by the Korea Institute of Public Administration, the loneliness index last year was highest among those aged 60 and over (24.0%), followed by those in their 50s (17.8%), 19-29 years old (16.3%), and 40s (14.9%).

On the 24th, an elderly person is taking a walk with a caregiver in the rooftop garden of the Eunpyeong Senior Care Center in Eunpyeong-gu, Seoul. The Eunpyeong Senior Care Center is a facility dedicated to elderly care, established by the Seoul Metropolitan Government as the nation's first public contribution project through private development. It was donated and constructed within the Susaek 13 District housing redevelopment site. This public elderly care facility spans from basement level 1 to the 6th floor above ground and opened in May. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung

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Ha Jae-geun, a popular culture critic, said, "As the average age of the Korean population rises and the physical age of middle-aged and older adults decreases, there is a growing social perception that this age group is also sufficiently capable of dating and forming new relationships. It is very natural for new services to emerge in response to these changes." He added, "Loneliness experienced by middle-aged and older adults arises from conditions where they have devoted their lives to their families and then find it difficult to form new relationships afterward. Dating apps can partially address this issue."

However, the possibility of exposure to various crimes such as fraud, false advertising, and personal information leaks, exploiting the fact that middle-aged and older adults are relatively unfamiliar with digital culture, is considered a challenge that needs to be addressed. Both app operators and users must exercise special caution.

Lee Woong-hyuk, a professor in the Department of Police Science at Konkuk University, said, "Various crimes that can occur in dating apps targeting younger generations can also happen in dating apps for middle-aged and older adults. Since this age group has much greater purchasing power and is less familiar with app usage, the scale of crimes could be larger." He advised, "Users themselves need to be cautious, and at the same time, app operators should take proactive measures such as thoroughly verifying subscribers' identities and monitoring."

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