Redefining DTF — How OkCupid Pushed for Social Change in Online Dating
The best problems to solve are the ones that are deeply rooted within your target audience
The year was 2018. Online dating, once considered a strictly taboo topic, had become a new social norm.
Tinder, the then-leader of the dating app pack, was already six years into the market. They even introduced Tinder Social, a feature on the app that allowed groups of strangers to meet up and get to know each other.
This was all done with the intention of promoting online dating as something that is cool and trendy, rather than dangerous and scary. And while that was successful in gaining acceptance from the public, it paved the way for an even bigger problem, dehumanization.
With the increasingly casual nature of online dating, it quickly developed into an overly sexualized culture, mainly because the male-dominated users (over 65%) were more interested in hook-ups than wife-ups. On top of that, the technology, user interfaces, and wealth of options available on dating sites continued to evolve.
People started to become desensitized and grew less concerned with forging genuine relationships with strangers. The situation continued to worsen. Online dating desperately needed reform. That was when OkCupid swooped in with a bang, no pun intended.
Enter: DTF The Campaign
Back in 2018, OkCupid was in dire need of revamping themselves after laying dangerously dormant for 14 years.
What made it worse was that the dating market was expanding and making way for newer and sexier dating apps like Tinder. People were no longer interested in using an outdated app like OkCupid.
DTF was the solution
OkCupid decided that it wanted its users to be DTF, but not in the way you might…
