Millennials like a mission, and Wingman lets them do something selfless—think about what’s good for a friend—and they love that option.
(PRWEB) May 23, 2017
Wingman, a new mobile matchmaking app, today announced results of the first Wingman Assisted Romance Survey from research conducted in the UK and the US earlier this year that suggests most millennials (90%)—whether they are single or in a relationship--say they would enjoy playing matchmaker for their friends. Indeed, almost seventy percent (70%) said they thought the matches they would make for their friends would be better than if their friends continued to pick their own dates.
“A large majority of the people we spoke to at length felt that they knew their friends well enough to pick people they should meet and many felt they absolutely knew them better than their friends know themselves,” said Wingman founder Tina Wilson. “Millennials tend to be confident and that confidence clearly extends to the widespread belief we found that many millennials are convinced they can be great matchmakers for their friends. Millennials also like a mission, and Wingman lets them do something selfless—think about what’s good for a friend—and they loved that option.”
Wingman launched the “Assisted Romance Survey” in focus groups in the UK late last year and has conducted them in the U.S. since February. They have consistently shown broad-based enthusiasm among millennials for playing Cupid for their friends—and widespread confidence among users that they are very adept at picking dates for their friends. The key findings of the first Wingman Assisted Romance Survey, aimed at identifying trends in romance, dating, and collaboration among Millennials were:
- Of those surveyed, about half said they enjoyed dating apps, and about half said they weren’t interested in using dating apps themselves.
- Almost half said they were frustrated by, and would love an alternative to, the “hookup culture” they felt is associated with dating apps or the bad experiences they’ve had with online dating.
- Of those who were actively dating, nearly three quarters said they would love to delegate the digital search to their friends, and 35% said they wouldn’t use online dating themselves, but they would be open to introductions made by a good friend of family member acting as a Wingman.
- And nearly ALL of those surveyed—upwards of 90%--whether single, in a relationship, or married, said they would jump at the chance to play matchmaker for a friend and that they would be good at it. There was almost universal enthusiasm for swiping for their closest friends and family which they felt was a way to do something good for them and create happiness.
Quotes from the Wingman Assisted Romance Survey
“At least three of my friends are better at judging who I should go out with than I am. I get lost in online dating, and I would LOVE if my friends could introduce me to people they think I should go out with. ” –Nikki M., Arlington, VA.
“My sister can always spot someone I should meet. I’d like her to go online and find guys for me because she knows what I like and she knows what I should avoid!”—Maia, Miami, FL.
“I would never sign up for a dating app. It’s just not me. But I love that my roommate can pick out people I should meet and then I get a message if they’re interested. It takes all the work out of online dating.” –Samantha, San Diego, CA.
NOT A DATING APP. Wingman is not a dating app, but rather a growing community of matchmakers who want to do something good for a single friend. Singles cannot write their own profiles or contact potential matches. Only a Wingman can create a profile for their single friend, then choose who they want their friend to meet, thus establishing a new, collaborative approach to making online connections.
The Wingman app is designed to appeal to several large user groups—an estimated 60 million users who haven’t tried online dating, those who already user online dating and would welcome the additional bandwidth a Wingman can offer (an est. 40 million), and especially the millions of matchmakers who love to help friends meet new people. Thanks to Wingman, matchmakers who are in relationships can at last enjoy the dating app “swiping” experience vicariously, too without any stigma.
“We all have that one friend who knows us best and is a gifted matchmaker. Wingman gives them a platform for their natural matchmaking skills and lets them have fun playing Cupid. I believe that the desire to be a matchmaker for a single friend is as old as friendship itself,” says Founder Tina Wilson. “We want what is best for our friends and now we can do something to really help them. Wingman makes it easy to do something impactful and have a bit of fun along the way.”
Wilson sees Wingman as a complementary experience to, rather than a competitor to traditional dating apps. She says: “For many reasons, there are lots of people who are uncomfortable putting themselves online and won’t become active users of dating apps. Yet these same people agreed they would trust a friend to approach someone on their behalf, and that it felt like a ‘night out’. Wingman lets the people who know them best start the conversation.”
Dr. Joseph Cilona, psychologist, relationship expert, and former matchmaker extraordinaire on the Lifetime series, Married at First Sight says: “Finding love in today’s world is becoming more and more enmeshed with technology. I love that Wingman is dedicated to eradicating the experience of rejection in the often treacherous world of dating apps and sites, and that Wingman helps others to help people they care about have a better chance at finding love."
How Wingman Works: (User Video): A kinder, gentler, collaborative online community – No Stigma or Rejection Wingman enables users to create a profile for their single friend and tell the world why they are great. (The single friend is invited via text and can approve the profile that has been created for them). The Wingman browses through various profiles to find someone suitable. When they find someone they like for their friend, they make the introduction. This is done simply like an elbow nudge in a bar - ‘Hey, do you like my friend?’ However, in Wingman, it’s done by a simple swipe and tap. The person asked can say ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to this advance. If it’s a YES, all parties are notified, a match is made and the singles are connected via in-app chat. If the possible match is not interested, your friend is never notified and spared the rejection. Wilson envisions the Wingman community as a place where behavior will be tempered by the fact that every profile has been submitted by a friend—a Wingman—which may make the behavior more collaborative.
Research, Collaborative Millennials, and a Growing Audience Waiting for a Wingman Millennials are famously collaborative and the desire to work together with friends extends to dating. According to the Pew Research center, one-in-five online daters have asked someone else to help them with their profile; many online daters enlist their friends in an effort to put their best digital foot forward. Some 22% of online daters have asked someone to help them create or review their profile. Women are especially likely to enlist a friend in helping them craft the perfect profile—30% of female online daters have done this, compared with 16% of men. And according to new research just published in Cognitive Research, friends pick better profile pictures for their friends than even for themselves.
About Wingman Wingman, a mobile matchmaker application available in beta version in the iTunes App Store, was developed by Tina Wilson. Wingman was introduced as a beta version for testing in Australia and the United Kingdom in the summer of 2016 and introduced in the US in April 2017. Wingman is not a dating app, but rather a growing community of matchmakers who want to do something good for a single friend. Users cannot write their own profiles or contact people they find on the app; only a Wingman can create a profile for their single friend and identify possible matches and make introductions, establishing a new, collaborative approach to making online connections.
