Can what you binge-watch make you more attractive?
We’re familiar with dating sites and apps like Tinder, Hinge, OkCupid and stalwart Match.com. 40 million Americans use online dating sites and apps, so there are 40 Million Americans giving out personal information, in the hopes that whatever predictive algorithm being used will lead them to a compatible match.
But did you know that companies can predict your perfect match based on the data that you provide them? And they’re creating disruptive business models in the process.
NETFLIX
Netflix released a Valentine’s Day infographic detailing the watching behaviors that lead to modern love, or what Netflix has coined as “showmance”.
They surveyed over 1,000 18 to 39 year-olds to find out what people’s habits were when it came to relationships and their Netflix account. They found that what you watch on Netflix can actually make you sexier to potential mates. It’s a phenomenon they’re calling “show goggles,” and they’re defining it as a “psychological phenomenon resulting in a drastic change in perceived attractiveness based on taste in TV shows.” 25 percent of users find this to be true. 58 percent of people actually added shows to their watch list in order to make themselves more appealing.
They found that how couples define the relationship these days can be determined by sharing a Netflix password. 51 percent of people considered a relationship serious when passcodes are swapped. 17 percent believe that passwords should only be shared along with a ring.
Over at Facebook spring is already in the air. The social giant looked at how different times of the year affect the beginnings and endings of relationships. They tracked the changes from non-coupled relationship status, like “Single” or “Divorced,” to coupled status, like “In a relationship” or “Engaged.” and compared the data against the number of changes in the other direction, from coupled to non-coupled, in order to calculate the net percentage change.
While the numbers aren’t exact they do give us some insights into when love is everywhere.
Data showed people paired up around or joined the ranks of the newly single on the dates listed below.
- Feb. 14: 49% more new relationships than break-ups
- Dec. 25: 34% more new relationships than break-ups
- Dec. 24: 28% more new relationships than break-ups
- Feb. 15: 22% more new relationships than break-ups
- Apr. 2: 11% more break-ups than new relationships
Findings showed patterns over the course of the week as well. With a net gain in relationships after the weekend. Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday were the biggest days for new romance. As for breakups, more happened leading up to the weekend, peaking on Friday and Saturday among people in the older age groups. Facebook found that among younger people (those under 25), this weekly pattern was similar but temporally shifted just a bit, with the low point in net relationship growth coming on Thursday and Friday, followed by a slightly earlier weekend bump starting on Saturday.
FITBIT
On the more scandalous side of data grabbing who can forget the racy Fitbit info. leak. The company used to have user profiles and activity public by default, to “encourage social sharing and competitiveness.” But, some Fitbit users may not have realized this, given that the records of approximately 200 Fitbit users’ um, sex-ercise were showing up in Google search results!
The self-trackers were revealing their sexual activity stats online. Not the kind of thing you want floating around the web. While the company has now hidden the stats from searches, it was a wake-up call to checking the default sharing settings of most apps.
Soren Kaplan is the bestselling and award-winning author of Leapfrogging and The Invisible Advantage, an affiliated professor at USC’s Center for Effective Organizations, a former corporate executive, and a co-founder of UpBOARD. He has been recognized by the Thinkers50 as one of the world’s top keynote speakers and thought leaders in business strategy and innovation.