Bumble introduces new mental health and self-care features
Dating app has made the move after its own research found that 32 per cent of users are considering therapy
Bumble, the women-first dating and social networking app founded by CEO Whitney Wolfe Herd in 2014, has released a new suite of profile prompts and interest badges centred around mental health and self-care.
The addition of the new features aims to highlight what’s most important to them in a bid, the service says, to encourage an open dialogue around mental health from the offset. The move comes after research by the dating site found that over half of men globally (54 per cent) are taking active steps to look after their emotional and mental health.
As of now, people on Bumble can select from two new mental wellness-related Profile Prompts including “My mental health game changer was…” and “I’m prioritising my mental health by..,” as well as six new interest badges that can be added to their profile, listing their priorities, including ‘Therapy’, ‘Mindfulness’, ‘Deep Chat’, ‘Nutrition’, ‘Sleeping Well’ and ‘Time Offline’.
In a recent statement, Bumble said their data also revealed that over the past year, almost a third (32 per cent) of respondents around the world shared they are going to, or are considering going to therapy.
This follows the recent trend of so-called ‘Guardrailing’ identified by the dating platform, which found that more than half (52 per cent) of users have established more boundaries over the last year, including being more explicit about emotional needs and boundaries (63 per cent), being more thoughtful and intentional about how they put themselves out there (59 per cent), and not overcommitting socially (53 per cent).
Bumble has also introduced a ‘Snooze Mode’ offering the option to pause your activity on the app without losing connections or chats. It also allows you to hide your profile from potential matches for 24 hours, 72 hours, or potentially weeks at a time.
“Over the past couple of years, there has been a positive societal shift in how we prioritise and talk about mental health,” Naomi Walkland, Bumble’s VP of Europe says. “We’re seeing this mirrored when it comes to dating, with people demonstrating that they really value emotional maturity and communication, often over physical attributes.
“Bumble research shows that while people are looking for an empathetic and emotionally mature partner, they are also doing the work themselves through education, therapy, and learning to set boundaries and communicate them. Our latest self-care features are designed to encourage this conversation about mental health, share what’s important to you and find others who share a similar approach.”
