Tinder recently declared “friendfluence”, which is one of the top dating trends of the new year, according to Cosmopolitan, reporting that nearly half of daters say their friends have a significant influence on their love lives, including who they date.
Can friends actually save a relationship?
Of course, introducing a new partner to your friends or merging social circles in a relationship has always been a major part of dating.
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According to Devyn Simone, Tinder’s resident relationship expert, “friendfluence” is about more than just getting a vibe check from the group chat on a potential match or testing whether a new beau can hang with your crew.
Simone explains that this trend reflects a broader shift within modern dating culture, one that speaks to how Gen Z “is rewriting the rules of romance” and reframing dating as a communal experience as opposed to a solo pursuit.
Relationships can actually be less intimidating
People might argue that a culture of “dating as content” has only made real connections seem all the more elusive in an increasingly online and increasingly lonely world. According to Simone, the Gen Z urge to engage with other people’s dating lives on TikTok actually reflects this generation’s investment in community and a desire to merge rather than compartmentalize various parts of their lives. “It reinforces the idea that relationships don’t exist in a vacuum; they’re meant to live within real social worlds, not just one-on-one pressure cookers,” Simone tells Cosmopolitan. “Dating isn’t a solo mission anymore. It’s a team sport.”
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While the rise of DatingTok may have influenced this more community-minded approach to dating, Simone says “friendfluence” isn’t just happening online. In fact, it may actually be a product of this generation’s growing desire for real-life connection and experience in a Very Online world.
