Online dating has been helpful for people who need help meeting people in their area, but even after matching, they still need a bit of help to strike up a conversation. That's where Opening Move comes in, where women and nonbinary users can create pre-drafted statements to send to a match.
Bumble's Opening Move
The new feature will serve as a way to eliminate the pressure of having to come up with a conversation starter. Since women and nonbinary users are the ones who can message first, the responsibility falls on them, and of course, it has to be good.
Users in nonbinary and same-gender pairings can create Opening Move messages in preparation and set additional dating intentions or preferences, as well as prompts and other settings, as mentioned in Tech Crunch.
When setting it up, users can create their own custom messages, but Bumble also offers suggestions in the form of pre-composed questions. For instance, you can open with statements like "What do you like about my profile?" or "What book or film changed the way you think?"
Bumble Senior Product Manager Dara Alsulayman said that the company recognizes how it can sometimes be burdensome to start a chat every single time, so they wanted to listen to their members and help them find more ways to make the first move a little easier.
For now, users only have the option to use one Opening Move. However, Alsulayman said that Bumble intends to "add support for dynamic Opening Moves," which will allow users to have several options instead of just one version.
The feature has already been tested in countries like New Zealand and Australia. According to Bumble CEO Lidiane Jones, the test has shown success, seeing as the feature led to higher reply rates as well as longer conversations.
Bumble's Tips on Making the First Move
Users can opt for the Opening Move feature, but it's understandable that different profiles can also mean different approaches. When someone says in their bio that they are gamers, for instance, you might want to ask what kind of video game they enjoy.
Clinical Psychologist Dr. Adele D'Ari said: "If you have a clear goal for why you're online dating and you're very open about that, you'll have a more successful time," which means that the way you communicate with matches should reflect your intentions.
It's not advisable to start a conversation that doesn't feel authentic, or conversation starters that may be hard to respond to. For instance, "Hi" could be too generic. For starters, try to connect with your match by talking about the interests they add to their profile.
Bumble even suggested lines that you can use such as "Hit me with a weird fact," "What are your top 3 pizza spots in the city?" "When's the last time you laughed so hard you cried?" or "I've officially finished all my shows. Got any recs?"
With these lines, you can get to know the person on the other line, and you can find something you can bond over faster. If it doesn't work out, then try not to be stressed. That's the point of dating. You find out if you're compatible with the person and if not, you can continue finding someone who is.
