Users of online dating sites have lost trust in algorithms. The main role in choosing a partner is no longer played by appearance, but by the horoscope
We laugh at them, but we all actually believe in them
Stars have a huge amount of trust in people. So much so that politicians like you could dream of it. Online dating site Hily found in a survey that 70% of its users actually choose a potential partner based on how well they fit together according to the rules of the zodiac. Last year's survey by Sanep showed that 79% of Czechs follow horoscopes more or less regularly and 51% even trust them.
The option to add your zodiac sign to your profile exists on well-established dating sites such as Tinder or Bumble - the latter even offers a feature to add your preferred signs to pair up with. Bumble found that in the UK, over a million male and especially female users have added their sign to their profile. In the US, online dating site Struck has even been running successfully since last year, linking its users purely based on what constellation the Sun, Moon and planets were in when they were born. The funniest thing about this app is that it was created by a mechanical engineering and materials science graduate.
Why horoscopes?
Choosing a partner based on looks is terribly superficial, plus we've all been burned a hundred times. Choosing by the universe, by contrast, feels very soulful - and in the event of failure, one can be angry at the stars, not oneself.
Nichi Hodgson, dating expert and author of The Curious History of Dating: From Jane Austen to Tinder, offered Glamourmagazine.co. uk a different answer to the question of why horoscopes. In her opinion, app users have simply lost trust in algorithms. And they still don't know what to successfully choose a partner based on if they were to rely on themselves instead of an algorithm.
Horoscope as a test to see if the other person is worth the effort
That's why the stars get a say in making romantic and sexual contacts. "People don't just want to be practical when looking for love, they want to approach it metaphysically," says Nichi Hodgson. Generation Z, for example, is much less sceptical about astrology than millennials, she says. No wonder. When you grow up in a world where you have no control over basic things at all - whether it's a coronavirus pandemic or a deteriorating environment - why not believe in a higher power?
Not everyone with a zodiac sign partner is directly governed by it. Mentioning the stars and horoscope right at the start of a joint communication tends to be a reliable test of whether the other party is open to mystery and something otherworldly. Moreover, this is an easy way to break the ice. If a potential partner laughs harshly at such a mention, for many people it means they shouldn't keep trying. The reaction may reveal possible problems on the partner's part that would otherwise surface later - such as superiority, a tendency to anger, or emotional closed-mindedness.
The stars are there to help find a long-term relationship
Rachel Lo, creator of Struck, an online dating site that matches users by zodiac sign, said she wanted to offer people an app that would make them feel a sense of mental well-being. She found the endless acceptance or rejection of proposals from potential partners on other dating sites too stressful. After all, these apps were designed for users to spend as much time in them as possible. "That means they're not really made at all to help the user find a long-term relationship as quickly as possible. Because then no one would be on Tindra, right?" said Rachel Lo in an interview with the Chicago Tribune.
Some astrologers have even compiled recommendations on which sign should use which online dating site. It depends on how people born in that sign approach relationships, and how the app's algorithm is built. So Aries, the most active of the zodiac's fire signs, is supposed to use Tindr, where it will eventually find a new replacement quickly. On the other hand, for Pisces, which craves romance and emotional connection, OkCupid is said to be best.
