Gen Z are prioritising mates over dates according to new research

There's a new movement Gen Z is leading where they are prioritising mates over dates, as new data from Bumble shows.

Almost half (47 per cent) of 18-24-year-olds in the UK say that platonic friendships are more important to them than romantic ones.

However, over a third are stuck in outdated friendships (35 per cent) and are not satisfied with the ones they currently have (37 per cent).

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Meanwhile, almost half (48 per cent) of 18-24-year-olds in the UK want to make new friends, and over two-fifths (44 per cent) find it difficult to make friends with over a quarter (28 per cent) saying they find it difficult to approach people in person.

This new research comes as Bumble Inc, the parent company of Bumble, Badoo, Fruitz and Official, announced the launch of Bumble For Friends, a standalone app for finding friends.

The app creates a new way for people to grow their friendship circles by discovering meaningful, kind, and fun connections in their local area that is separate from the Bumble dating app.

The new app follows the successful BFF mode that’s been available within the Bumble app since 2016, which features three modes for: romantic relationships (Date), platonic friendships (BFF), and business connections (Bizz).

Gen Z is prioritising mates over dates, according to research from BumbleiStockphoto by Getty Images

“Friendship has always been a critical part of Bumble’s goal to living a healthy and happy life," said Whitney Wolfe Herd, Bumble’s founder and CEO.

"With feelings of loneliness and isolation at an all-time high, now more than ever is a time to prioritise self-love and friendships for our well-being.

"Having a dedicated Bumble For Friends app that’s separate from the dating experience makes friendship-finding easier for people looking to make meaningful platonic connections in their area."

Herd added: “People are more open to making friends online than ever before. In fact, in a recent Bumble For Friends survey, over a third of Gen-Z respondents in the UK shared that making new friends online lessened their loneliness."

“No matter your life stage - whether it’s moving off to college, looking for a travel partner or becoming a new mum - Bumble For Friends creates a fun way to connect with people while helping solve the extremely important issue of loneliness.”

How Bumble For Friends Works

• It starts with creating a profile that reflects the member’s personality and interests through uploading photos and showcasing hobbies that illustrate where the person is in their life and what kind of friends they’re looking to meet.
• Bumble For Friends models a similar experience as Bumble Date where members see profiles for potential friends based on common interests, swipe right on profiles they would like to connect with and are notified when a match is made.
• Anyone currently using BFF mode with the Bumble app who wishes to migrate their profile and connections into the Bumble For Friends app will be able to skip the setup and easily do so upon downloading and logging into the new app as an existing member.
• Once a BFF profile is moved over to the Bumble For Friends app, BFF mode is no longer available in the Bumble app. The Date and Bizz functionality remains.

A new, easier way to plan group meetups is exclusively available in the Bumble For Friends app:

• Starting to roll out today within the new Bumble For Friends app, it’s easy to get a group together to make a plan to meet IRL.
• Any member can create a plan for a group meetup with at least two of their connections from the conversations tab.
• A member selects a planned activity from a list of suggestions or creates their own.
• Once a member selects a plan, theme or creates a title for the group chat, they can invite at least two of their matches.
• Their matches receive an invite in their chat that is titled the name of the planned activity, which can be edited.
• Anyone who accepts the invite can join the group chat and start discussing any of the meetup details.

Bumble For Friends is free to use and is available on the App Store and Google Play in Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and the United States with more regions to come.

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