It’s a Match! – Survey Report on Indonesian Online Dating Apps Users

The advancement of internet technology has changed society and shaped some new habits and preferences in the way people communicate, including in how they get to know and meet strangers. Online dating is one of the results of the changing that has been happening lately. Last year, Jakpat made a survey about online dating[1], and of course, talking about online dating cannot be separated from talking about the platform: online dating apps. Therefore we wonder, with its worldwide popularity and all, how popular online dating apps are in Indonesia and what do they do with the apps in terms of habit and preference? Regarding to this matter, recently Jakpat has conducted a survey in order to see further toward online dating apps users in Indonesia. This survey involved 1606 respondents from across Indonesia. For the further notes, Jakpat’s respondents in this survey are Indonesian smart-phone users, with a range of age from 17 to 37 year-old.

First of all, surprisingly we found only 23.04% (370 out of 1606 respondents) who admit that they use online dating apps. Based on their preference, we found that there are top five online dating apps used by Indonesian dating app users. Top five online dating apps in this country are: (1) Wechat, as chosen by 54.59%, (2) Tinder, as chosen by 18.38%, (3) Badoo, as chosen by 18.38%, (4) Skout, as chosen by 13.51%, and (5) Setipe, as chosen by 9.73%.

Next, we found there are 40.81% of Indonesian online dating apps users who knew about the apps they use in the first place from their friends. Meanwhile, 25.14% of them knew it from the recommendation of Play Store or Apple Store, and the other 20.54% knew it from the media, such as the internet, television, radio, magazines, etc. Hence, most of Indonesian online dating apps users (67.57%) admit that they look for further information before using the apps.

Regarding to the consideration they have when they choose certain apps to use, apparently most of Indonesian online dating apps users (78.65%) admit that they do have some particular considerations. Most of them (59.79%) argue that they consider mostly about how convenient the apps to be used. Meanwhile, less than half of them (45.02%) believe that the safety of their private data and information is the most important thing. Moreover, other considerations include some reviews from other users of the apps (42.96%), the feature of the apps whether it provides compatibility with potential partner (38.49%), and also some recommendation from their friends (36.77%).

Next, we asked about the reason why they used online dating apps in the first place. We found that there are five most common answers by Indonesian online dating apps users. First, they used online dating apps in the first place because of curiousity (34.32%). Second, it’s because just for fun (22.16%). Third, it’s because their friends are using the same apps (17.57%). Fourth, it’s just because (9.46%), or in other words, they don’t actually have particular reason why they used the apps. Last, it’s because they just want to follow the current trend by using online dating apps (8.65%).

Henceforth, we asked about the purpose of using online dating apps. We found that there are also five most common answers by Indonesian online dating apps users. First, they use online dating apps for finding some new friends (74.56%). Second, it’s for meeting a potential significant other or partner in romance (37.84%). Third, it’s just for trolling around with some people (32.16%). Fourth, it’s for finding new business partner (25.41%). Last, it’s just for observing people (25.14%).

Regarding to the time period of using online dating apps, apparently 32.43% of Indonesian online dating apps users admit that they have used the apps for one to six months already. Moreover, 21.89% of them have used online dating apps for less than a month. Meanwhile, regarding to the frequency of accessing online dating apps, apparently 38.38% of Indonesians online dating apps users admit that they access the apps every day. In addition, 25.95% of them access it only once in a while.

Next, about the action of “liking” someone’s profile on online dating apps, we asked about their very first consideration. Apparently, the most common answer is “face”, as chosen by 41.89% of Indonesian online dating apps users. The second most common answer is “profile description” (38.65%), and the third one is “religion” (10.27%). Henceforth, we asked about their overall considerations when “liking” someone’s profile on online dating apps. Apparently, “face” and “profile description” are still top two common answers, as chosen by 73.78% and 65.41% of Indonesian online dating apps users, respectively. However, the top third answer this time is different because “age” appears to be third thing they consider in “liking” someone’s profile on online dating apps, as chosen by 53.24%.

When asked about the important information to be on their profile, we found apparently most Indonesian online dating apps users choose “photo” (80%) in the first place, followed by “gender” (68.92%) in the second place. In the third place is “age” (68.38%), and then “religion” in the fourth place (60%). Up on number five of the list is “personal status” (54.86%), followed by “job” (48.11%) on number six. “Hobby and/or interest” (45.86%) is on number seven, and lastly on number eight is “location” (45.14%).

Regarding to the habit and preference of taking it more personal, we found that most of Indonesian online dating apps users (76.49%) admit that they have shared their personal contact information with some potential partner through online dating apps. Moreover, most of them (79.73%) admit that they have continued their chat with potential partner or significant other through more personal messaging platform. When asked about which personal messaging platform they use, there are top three platforms they choose; (1) Blackberry Messenger, as chosen by 55.93%, (2) WhatsApp Messenger, as chosen by 53.56%, and (3) Line Messenger, as chosen by 45.76%.

Next, regarding to the personal preferences in the habit of taking it offline, apparently we found that more than half of Indonesian online dating apps users (59.19%) admit that they have ever had an offline meet-up with potential partner they found from online dating apps. Hence, less than half of them (42.97%) admit that they have had a meet-up with only one person, while some of them (37.84%) admit that they have met at least one up to five people offline. In addition, there are 38.65% of Indonesian online dating apps users who admit that they have got a real-life partner or significant other from online dating apps.

Regarding to some negative experiences they might have found while using online dating apps, we found that less than half of Indonesian online dating apps users (42.43%) admit that they have ever had negative experiences. Henceforth, about the kind of negative experiences they’ve got, 49.68% of them admit that they’ve met some weird or freak people, while 34.39% of them admit that their profile has been seriously misinterpreted by other people. Moreover, 32.48% of them admit that they were being harassed, whether visually or verbally, while 28.66% of them admit that they were being contacted or flirted in a way that makes them feel uncomfortable. In addition, 15.29% of them admit that they have met someone they used to be in a relationship with.

Regarding to the satisfaction scale of using online dating apps by the Indonesian users, apparently most of them (77.57%) admit that they find the apps is satisfying enough to use. However, most of them (35.8%) only gave 1 point in the satisfaction scale, which means they are very dissatisfied in a way by the apps. As a further note, the satisfaction scale is ranging from 1 to 10, with 1 is standing for “very dissatisfied” and 10 is standing for “very satisfied”. Lastly, we asked those respondents who haven’t used online dating apps yet (1236 out of 1606 respondents) whether they have interest in using the apps. Apparently, only some of them (33.01%) admit that they’re interested in using online dating apps sometimes in the future.

[1] See further survey result in https://insight.jakpat.net/online-dating-survey-report/

For more detail you can download XLS report at the button below (bahasa). JAKPAT report consists of 3 parts which are 1) Respondent Profile, 2) Crosstabulation for each question and 3) Raw Data. Respondent profile shows you demographic profiles ( gender,age range, location by province, and monthly spending). Cross tabulation enables you to define different demographic segment preference on each answer.