Why Singaporean Gen Zs and millennials are turning to “mundane dating”
A new dating trend has emerged in Singapore, and it’s mundane.
According to a 2023 survey commissioned by dating app Bumble*, almost half of single Singaporeans aged between 18 and 42 years old (45 percent) are comfortable turning routine errands into dating opportunities, giving rise to a dating trend termed as “mundane dating”.
*The research was commissioned by Bumble and conducted between Jun 23 to 30, 2023 with a sample of 1,000 people in Singapore, singles aged 18 to 42 years old.
And it is as ordinary as it sounds. Grocery shopping (72 percent) was found to be the most suitable and enjoyable mundane dating activity, followed by cooking (61 percent). Other activities include dog walking, furniture shopping, organising a space and gardening.
Currently one in five Singaporean singles have tried mundane dating, with even more open to the idea of it. While the activities may sound boring, the majority of singles (67 percent) surveyed believe that mundane dating allows for connection at a more authentic level, and allows for an assessment of compatibility and shared values in the approach of mundane tasks. More than half of Gen Zs (those aged 18 to 26 years) even perceive that a sense of fun and adventure in activities can be had from mundane dating.
Based on the research, 50 percent of single Gen Zs are more open to mundane dating as they look for new ways to fit dating into their busy schedules. In contrast, millennials (those aged 27 to 42 years) are less likely to see everyday activities as a suitable casual dating experience (28 percent), less likely to adapt their way of dating to accommodate busy schedules (21 percent) and less likely to find dating to be important despite having a busy lifestyle (11 percent).
It’s a trend that focuses on simplicity and the authenticity of getting to know someone better, says Lucille McCart, APAC communications director at Bumble. “Gen Zs and millennials in Singapore are now choosing everyday dates over extravagant ones to find genuine connections, and have more meaningful conversations,” she says. The rising trend of mundane dating is also a positive sign that young Singaporeans are still excited and interested to date, and are finding new ways to get to know and understand each other better at a low pressure setting.
