Latest news with #matchmaking
Vogue Arabia
3 days ago
- General
- Vogue Arabia
When Swiping Fails: Why We're Looking to Matchmakers Again
My best friend met her husband at a birthday dinner. He was dining at the same restaurant, saw her from across the hall, and just knew. Six months later, they were married in a fairytale wedding. Ten years later, their fairytale continues. My parents' love story follows a similar tone. He saw her at cafe in Cairo and knew. A ring came weeks later, and then he spent the next year mailing her letters from a tiny town in Canada, waiting for her to join him. In an age where we fluctuate between busy work schedules and self-isolation rebranded as self care, these happenstance whirlwind romances feel fewer and far between. Who has time to lock eyes with a stranger in a café, when we're on deadlines and have pilates at 6 pm? Online dating has always felt like the most efficient way to find love. But love isn't about efficiency, it's about intentionality. In 2025, Tinder, one of the most popular dating apps in the region, has 9.6 million subscribers. That seems like a significant number, however in 2023, that number was 9.9 million. And in 2022, it was 10.8 million. Tinder is losing users in ways we haven't seen before. While the wide range of dating apps could potentially be a reason for Tinder's decline, shows like Muslim Matchmaker, Love is Blind Habibi and Indian Matchmaking suggest that maybe people are looking for alternative, more traditional ways to find love – like matchmaking. 'Dating apps have changed the way we relate to love,' says Dr. Ahmad Deeb, a Syrian-American psychologist. 'On the one hand, they've made it easier than ever to meet new people and gain unprecedented access to potential partners. But that same abundance presents a paradox. Research on choice overload suggests that when people are presented with too many options, they experience more regret, decision fatigue, and difficulty committing.' He says that people are choosing to seek out the help of matchmakers not as a trend, but as a response and a reclamation of something we've lost. And it's a good thing. 'We're witnessing a revival of intentional relational structures because the existing ones are no longer working. The rise of matchmaking and relationship therapy signals that people are tired of navigating love alone.' Even just ten years ago, families, community members and friends were much more involved in navigating courtship. That involvement created accountability and enforced intentions. With apps, that support system was erased and it left room for harmful dating patterns like ghosting. Hoda Ibrahim, co-host of Muslim Matchmakers and Love, Inshallah agrees. Her clients typically come to her because they are tired of swiping and are looking for a more meaningful connection. 'Many of my clients are high-achieving professionals who are intentional about every area of their lives, so it only makes sense they'd want to be intentional about love too,' she says. 'Dating apps are like junk food: addictive, convenient, but rarely nourishing. They turn love into a game, where it's more about dopamine hits and validation than compatibility and values. You end up chasing attention instead of connection. Plus, many people on apps aren't serious, so even when there's chemistry, there's no clarity. That's exhausting.' In the age of overconsumption, we've allowed quantity to dilute quality. An abundance of choice in dating options, endless scrolling, and global-interconnectedness has spoiled us with choice anad made it impossible for us to see what's right infront of us. And sometimes, what's right infront of us is the person we've been looking for. We just have to remember to look up from our screens.
Forbes
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
What ‘The Materialists' Got Wrong (And Right) According To The Ultimate Matchmaker
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 08: Dakota Johnson (L) and Pedro Pascal are seen filming "Materialists" in ... More Tribeca on May 08, 2024 in New York City. (Photo by Gotham/GC Images) Dakota Johnson's 'The Materialists' has put a spotlight on New York City matchmaking. The film follows Johnson's character, Lucy, a New York City matchmaker that goes to great lengths to please her affluent clients in trying to find them their perfect matches with near impossible criteria across looks, education, income and lifestyle. All the while Lucy finds herself in a love triangle torn between a wealthy finance man and a broke, aspiring actor. The movie's director herself was inspired to to bring this to life after having her own experience with matchmaking, but did the film accurately portray real New York City matchmaker experiences? The Ultimate Matchmaker, Jennifer Donnelly, shared her honest opinions on what movie got wrong and right about her industry. As a high end matchmaker that caters to millionaires and billionaires, she did find that the character, Harry, was similar to some of her real life clients as affluent families tend to hire her to find matches for their children just as Harry's mother was pushing him to get married. More obvious similarities include interacting and approaching strangers, attending clients' weddings and receiving inundating questions about the profession. Jennifer Donnelly helps high net worth indviduals find love across the globe. The demographic Donnelly mainly serves are ultra-wealthy individuals with a client base of about 60% males and 40% females. With her rates ranging from $150,000 to $500,000, her success rate is conservatively 97%, she shared. 'My clients have built extraordinary careers, achieved financial success, and cultivated rich, dynamic family relationships. What they're truly seeking isn't just access—it's deep alignment. And they want to find that connection without putting themselves through the spotlight of a public search process,' she explained on why clients are willing to pay for her premium services. However, there were way more differences than similarities. The way Lucy, Johnson's character, was interacting with clients was not an accurate representation. 'In the movie Lucy makes friends with clients in addition to stating that she 'hates' her clients while talking unkindly about them. This would never happened at my agency. Everyone, including myself, signs an agreement to enforce no outside friendships. Ee genuinely respect clients and absolutely enjoy working with them,' she explained. Lucy smoking is another professional behavior that Donnelly said would deter clients, as many high-end clients do not want to be around smokers. Jennifer Donnelly, founder of the Ultimate Matchmaker. As far as the actual process of helping clients find love, in the movie, clients are on dating apps but that would never happen in real life. Donnelly shared that her clients wouldn't even consider it due to their status, privacy, and limited time to dedicate to dating. The mindset around understanding what the client needs and deserves is also more of a conflict in the movie. Lucy arranges 10 bad dates in a row and believes people just want to settle, so she doesn't give them exactly what they want, and believes the client is fully responsible for making the relationship work. 'At The Ultimate Matchmaker our clients are so well understood;we don't set up pairings that would result in bad dates. Additionally, we execute an intensive screening process in an effort to do everything possible to make sure we give the client exactly what they want—they don't have to settle. The $500k investment allows me to help as much as needed during the relationship. I am on the same team as my clients and I want them to win,' she explained. Other small differences include employees taking frequent breaks to celebrate every successful client date in the movie, but at The Ultimate Matchmaker, success is expected and the celebrations with incredible gifts are saved for the big wins like engagements and marriages. Donnelly also noted that matchmakers at her agency make much more than Lucy's $80,000 salary. The Materialists is now available for streaming on Amazon.
Forbes
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Forbes
‘Destiny 2' Just Secretly Fixed A Big ‘Edge Of Fate' Problem
Destiny 2 I don't quite know why, but when Bungie does something very good when it comes to responding to player requests in Destiny 2, they often don't broadcast it well enough, but here we are again. A new patch yesterday fixed some bugs like PS5 audio issues, nerfed some guns, and introduced a new problem with the Encore mission where it once again needs to be disabled. However, it also added something cool, and it helps with what I have said repeatedly is one of the bigger problems with the new Portal system. While I did not see it announced anywhere, and DMG confirmed that it was indeed a new addition as of this week, a selection of individual Fireteam Ops missions now have inborn matchmaking, rather than having it off and mandatorily herding players into Fireteam Finder every single time they wanted to play one. These new matchmaking options come with set modifiers you cannot change, which is necessary to make matchmaking work at all. When I was under 220 power, those selected were automatically getting me to an A-rank. Over 220, now it's B, but 90% of the way to A (it should still be possible to get A). Destiny 2 The catch here is that it's only the top row of Fireteam Ops missions. The others below it, which is currently 12 other missions, do not have matchmaking. Why? The top row are the featured ones where you can focus specific slots, so the assumption there is that more people will be playing those. Having matchmaking for 15 different individual missions, especially with player population precipitously declining, feels like a recipe for long waits and frustration. So you'll have to use Fireteam Finder only on those. FEATURED | Frase ByForbes™ Unscramble The Anagram To Reveal The Phrase Pinpoint By Linkedin Guess The Category Queens By Linkedin Crown Each Region Crossclimb By Linkedin Unlock A Trivia Ladder This move also helps Fireteam Finder itself, because the more 'casual' players who don't want to deal with FF and modifier picking are herded into matchmaking, where people who have more focused plans and perhaps are being a bit more purposeful about it are more likely to find like-minded people in FF to link up with. So, win-win for both types of players. Solo Ops doesn't need matchmaking, obviously. I can understand why Pinnacle Ops doesn't have matchmaking. So, this addition to Fireteam Ops feels 'good enough' in many regards, even if I'd maybe bump up the matchmaking breadth to at least half the featured missions with more specific gear offered. Don't get me wrong this is not a seal of approval for Destiny 2's new Portal or the power grind that's currently in place (woof), but if you are interacting with the system, this is certainly good news and I just wanted to make you aware of its existence, given that for whatever reason, this did not launch with the expansion nor is it really being broadcast by Bungie. Follow me on Twitter, YouTube, Bluesky and Instagram. Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy
Yahoo
22-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Dakota Johnson-Pedro Pascal rom-com 'Materialists' now on VOD
Dakota Johnson, seen at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, stars in "Materialists." File Photo by Rune Hellestad/UPI July 22 (UPI) -- A24 announced Tuesday that Materialists is now available to rent or buy on video-on-demand retailers. The price is $19.99 to rent and $24.99 to own. Retailers include Apple TV+, Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and cable or satellite providers. The film opened June 13 in theaters. Dakota Johnson plays a matchmaker who falls for the brother (Pedro Pascal) of one of her clients. A love triangle forms when her ex-boyfriend (Chris Evans) returns into her life and they reconnect. UPI praised writer/director Celine Song's film in its review, highlighting her poignant take on the contradictions of turning love into a for-profit service. The focus on matchmaking also challenged some of the conventions of Hollywood love stories. ADVERTISEMENT Materialists will be on Blu-ray in September. The Blu-ray is available for pre-order. Pedro Pascal, seen at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival, stars in "Materialists." File Photo by Rune Hellestad/UPI A24 also sells Materialists merchandise including a hat for the fictional Adore matchmaking service, silver heart ring, T-shirt and vinyl soundtrack.
Daily Mail
20-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Unorthodox new dating trend Aussies are jumping on as they ditch frustrating apps: 'Such a different vibe'
Fed-up young Aussies are abandoning dating apps and jumping onto a new and unorthodox craze in the hopes of finding love. Instead of getting lost in toxic online platforms, friends are using PowerPoint presentations to pitch their lovelorn mates as a romantic prospect to a pub full of singles. The events are a refreshing departure from the grim world of dating apps that involve endless swiping, lacklustre conversations with matches, and disappointing meet-ups. A Forbes study in 2024 found 75 per cent of Gen Z singles who used Tinder, Hinge or Bumble felt burnt out and didn't think they could make a genuine connection. Matchmaking company Pitch Perfect Match hosts the new dating events, with co-founder Selani Adikari labelling it a game-changer. 'Friends are better matchmakers for two reasons, they know you best and they're not afraid to boast about you in ways that you might not feel comfortable with,' she said. 'A person's friendships are a direct reflection of themselves, so when your friends go up to pitch you, someone watching can get a vibe for who you are, through your friends, and that's very difficult on dating apps. 'Meeting people in person is such a different vibe to scrolling through 2D photos on an app.' The Sydney local said the 'aha moment' for the idea arrived after three years of singledom and a growing frustration with the limitations of dating apps. The format is simple yet refreshing. Instead of self-promoting, singles get pitched by their friends in a three-to-four-minute PowerPoint-style presentation. Ms Adikari said that the friend advantage hits different because best pals can boast with honest charm. She said the novel approach challenges the superficial swiping culture and makes people feel more hopeful about love. Forrester's in Surry Hills debuted the idea on Valentine's Day and declared it wildly successful, with the next event planned for September 18. Events and reservations manager Sarah Cheney said they trialled the idea after witnessing the growing trend of 'Pitch Your Friend' nights popping up across the US. Ms Cheney agreed friends made better matchmakers than dating apps and algorithms. 'A friend knows you; an app doesn't,' she said. 'Apps rely on hard data filters like age and height, while a friend sees the full picture – your personality, your values, your quirks. 'With dating apps and algorithms, people are trying to portray themselves as they see themselves, but what actually ends up happening is that they portray themselves as they aspire to be. 'This is why so many first dates are such flops – the person you fell in love with on the app isn't the same as the one you met for a coffee, for dinner, or at the park.' Ms Cheney said events that bring strangers together in real life were becoming rarer. 'Younger generations that have grown up online with social media as a primary source of interpersonal connection are craving more than likes and DMs,' she said. 'I think this trend is also challenging the way we tend to judge a book by its cover when using dating apps. 'You can't swipe left on someone pitching their bestie in person – you have to watch and listen to the whole thing. 'By the end of the pitch, I think most people find that their initial judgment of that person was wrong and it opens them up to be more curious and less reactionary.' While it's early days, Forrester's has been offered as a free wedding venue for any couple that ties the knot after meeting at their inaugural event. Scientist-turned-love-guru Samantha Jayne praised the concept because it revealed authentic multidimensional qualities missing from the swiping culture. 'When your friends promote you it is real, it shows the connections you have in your life and you are a great person important enough in someone's life that they have gone to the effort of creating a pitch for you,' she said. 'The energy of a friend who believes in you is contagious. It invites the audience and potential dates to feel something, connection, curiosity, empathy. 'That is rarely achieved in static app profiles.' Ms Jayne said there had been a 'drastic' decline in singles using dating apps. 'At first when joining a dating app a person gets excited with the prospects of options it's a confidence boost but after no genuine connections or outcomes that occur as a result then that is when frustration kicks in,' she said. 'The technology itself is very useful and makes sense but the biggest problem is the people don't know how to use it. 'However, there are effective ways to make the apps work if you know how to use them.'
