'Dating apps beneficial for LGBTQ community in India'

New Delhi: Accepting that the stigma around their community has drastically lessened in the last five years, 73 per cent of the LGBTQ adults believe that online dating apps have benefited their community in a positive way in India, data from dating app Tinder showed on Tuesday.

As part of an internal survey, Tinder found out that while 44 per cent LGBTQ adults said online dating apps help them to express themselves more freely, 61 per cent people choose to come out about their sexuality on online platforms rather than coming out to friends and family and 39 per cent say it has made it easier for them to explore their own identities.

About 44 per cent LGBTQ adults use dating apps that are inclusive of all sexual orientations.

The survey suggests that dating apps have helped the LGBTQ community discover diversity in terms of dating in India and 35 per cent people from the LGBTQ community who use the services say they have more diverse people to date when compared to their heterosexual counterparts.

"Of the 73 per cent people who say online dating apps have had a positive impact, 33 per cent say it has provided more diversity of people to date in terms of sexual orientation, 33 per cent say it has provided more diversity of people to date in terms of race and culture," the company said.

The survey highlighted that out of the 61 per cent adults who came out about their sexuality on online apps, 51 per cent were part of the Gen Z group (born between 1995 and 2015) whereas 67 per cent were millennials (born between 1981 and 1996).

"Gen Z were less likely to formally come out than millennials. For those who formally came out, the most common age to do so was 21-25 (33 per cent) while 30 per cent came out between ages 16-20," the company added.

Tinder also noted that 30 per cent of the LGBTQ community say the pressure to be in a relationship has lessened in the last five years and today one in five people say they are less ashamed of their single status.

Tinder enjoys a global user base of 3.8 million people and the dating app receives over 7.5 million swipes everyday in India,