Biggest flex Im fully vaxxed Is vaccine talk the new sexting

How we choose to sell ourselves on dating apps spans the gamut of human interests, from cute pet dogs to BDSM and everything in between.

But regardless of personal predilections, there’s one attribute that’s become increasingly important right now â€" our COVID-19 vaccination status.

Credit:Illustration by Dionne Gain

Dating apps have been introducing tags on member profiles to show whether people have had the jab â€" in part, they say, to act as advocates for vaccine uptake, as well as reflecting an increasing importance among members to find those on the same page with COVID-19 safety.

Last week, Tinder announced it was rolling out stickers indicating “Vaccinated”, “Vaxing Soon”, “Immunity Together” and “Vaccines Save Lives”, and including links to health.gov.au for help about how to get vaccinated.

It’s a response to a 220 per cent increase in the word “vaccine” in member bios since the start of the year, according to Tinder.

And the app says it’s a definite discussion or selling point among members, with comments like, “Biggest flex atm is I’m fully covid vaxxed”, or â€" in an optimistic take on supply and lockdown duration â€" “On our first date, we can get the covid vaccine together”.

Tinder says it has embarked on a “vaccine advocacy initiative” aiming to make dating safer once everyone is out of the gates again.

“As Australia’s vaccination drive gains momentum, we want to extend support and encouragement for our members to be better equipped to find their way back into IRL [in real life] dating when it becomes a possibility,” says Tinder APAC communications director Papri Dev.

Another app, Hinge, has announced from next week it too is bringing in a new category on member profiles to mark vaccination status, saying in user testing those who had “vaccinated” on their profile got 30 per cent more matches.

Users across various apps say it’s not only a matter of health whether potential matches have been vaccinated, but it also helps to rule out the strident anti-vaxxers and conspiracy crackpots doing the rounds.

Dating app user Phillip (surname withheld for privacy reasons) says the tags help in sifting through people: “I would definitely be more willing to meet somebody who is vaccinated. Not only is it safer, it indicates a similar mindset.”

Another user, Maria, says it’s good to know where everyone stands: “I like the idea of knowing someone’s been vaccinated. A tag weeds out the anti-vaxxers and conspiracy theorists â€" and I have no time for that.”

However, for those who don’t sit in the pro-vaccine camp, it’s not the end of the world, says Swinburne University of Technology Professor of Media and Communication Kath Albury.

“There are so many filtering mechanisms built into apps already, like gender, location, body type and religious faith, it’s unlikely that vaccination status is going to be the one that leads to accusations of discrimination,” she says.

“Since it’s a pretty polarising issue, it could be seen as a helpful way to establish shared values or compatibility.”

Deeper connections during lockdown

Bumble has been well ahead of the curve, introducing vaccination labelling mid-July after it saw a 45 per cent increase in users nationally asking about vaccine statuses or COVID-19 symptoms in the six weeks to the end of June.

It’s also adapted to most members being unable to meet right now by bringing in a feature called “Night In”, which is a trivia game two matches can play and is the “perfect ice-breaker” for virtual dates, says Bumble APAC communications director Lucille McCart.

“Despite the challenges that come with lockdown, we know our community is still open to finding love and many relationships have blossomed off the back of virtual dating, and we hope to keep providing new ways for users to get to know each other virtually,” she says.

It’s clear that lockdowns and home confinement have inadvertently had a knock-on effect of making people getting to know each other better before they meet. RSVP CEO Dave Heysen says it extended its match communication window from 30 days to 60 last year to compensate for lockdowns, and it’s remained in place, with some interesting outcomes.

Heysen says when dating apps first emerged, they changed how we went about finding dates in that smaller screens and image-based apps put more emphasis on physical attributes. But now the pendulum is swinging the other way.

“We are hoping with more conversations happening on RSVP and people being forced to communicate for longer online before meeting in person due to lockdowns, that we are getting a more even balance between personality and physical appearance,” he says.

“We believe that the more people communicate or get to know ‘stuff’ about each other before meeting in person, the less awkward or uncomfortable the first date will be. They can hit the ground running.”

RSVP is yet to introduce vaccine tags, as Heysen says vaccination rates remain too low and customer feedback hasn’t asked for it yet. However, he says, members are free to mention it in profiles or upload vaccination certificates to their photo galleries.

Of course, dating apps don’t have the capacity to verify the vaccination status of members, but users can report any wrongdoing or falsehoods by others in the same way they can for other misdemeanours.

But who knows â€" could we be entering an era where swapping MyGov vaccine certificates is more desirable for some than nude photos?

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Sarah Thomas is a freelance journalist specialising in lifestyle, arts and entertainment.

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