Dates for Dates

Bella Rivera, Edan Sneh, Abheek Chakrabarti, and Nicholas Marzetti

Overview

According to research centered around the likelihood of divorce and/or separation among married couples, almost 50 percent of all marriages in the United States are slated to end in divorce or separation. Additionally, about 61 percent of these divorces are between partners with children. However, even after divorce or separation, individuals are still hoping to build new connections and find a future with someone else. We have found through our own research that previously separated individuals find themselves to be incompatible with existing dating solutions because they feel as if they are targeted towards a younger audience (Millennials and Gen-Z). We have also found that many separated parents can run into difficulties balancing dating, their careers, and parenting. The prominence of these issues inspired us to design a solution that catered towards those who are separated and are looking to meet others while fulfilling their professional and parental responsibilities. Our proposed solution facilitates easier scheduling for parents and helping individuals meet others in non-traditional settings that are centered around shared interests.

Research Goals

For our research method we used surveys and interviews. Both of these research methods were important to our study. Since separation can be a touchy subject, surveys allowed participants to express any personal feelings anonymously to us. Surveys also allowed us to get data from a higher variety of subjects, resulting in more quantitative data. The interviews were also an important medium for us since it allowed us to go more in depth with some of the participants and try to understand more of the story around their dating experience. In other words, we were able to get a more qualitative analysis through the interviews.

Through these two methodologies we were able to better understand our participants and their history. The majority of our participants were in their 30–45s, with a nearly unanimous interest in revisiting the dating scene (some already having found a SO). Most of the participants had tried dating apps or some sort of mass marketed dating service and provided feedback on the issues they ran into.

Results and Themes

From the results of our research, it is clear that many people struggle with navigating their availability and scheduling dates as a parent. Overall, many survey respondents, as well as interviewee Dua, expressed that dating is more difficult as a parent. In terms of availability, people expressed having issues with simply finding the time to go on dates, considering their own busy schedules, as well as their children’s. In addition to not having enough time, some also have difficulty finding someone to watch their kids when they go out. Dua mentioned that she feels guilty leaving her child with her parents. It could also just be difficult or a hassle to book babysitters. Participants noted that children added another complication to the dating process: new expectations for a partner related to their children. For example, Dua needed to make sure that her partner would also be a good father to her current child and not just a match for her.

Another prominent result that emerged from our research is the importance of scammer or catfish protection. Many participants mentioned in the survey that current dating apps needed improvement in the verification process. A common sentiment was that the whole process was made less enjoyable and authentic because there are too many fake profiles out there. Additionally, scamming led some to a lack of trust in the people they were meeting. This could further lead to people missing out on potential great experiences because they didn’t trust the person enough to meet with them.

Proposed Design

Our research into “Dating After Separation” and the interviews we conducted with people in this situation revealed a lot of important insight into this sometimes taboo topic. We were exposed to some of the difficulties that parents face while dating as well as where existing dating solutions fell short, which helped us produce a focused design for this demographic that provides multiple features that make the process of meeting others painless.

One such difficulty we discovered through our research was difficulty in finding time to date with a busy schedule of working and parenting. This issue inspired us to create an interface that caters to those trying to focus more on the scheduling aspect of dating: a calendar. This design allows users to easily find events and dating opportunities by putting an emphasis on keeping track of dates and times to work around the user and their child’s busy schedules. By having a calendar view and allowing the user to import their own schedule, they are able to pick out which days they are available. Using this interface, we can also implement options to book a babysitter when adding certain events to your calendar. This makes going out much less of a hassle and stress-free because the user doesn’t have to do any work of planning; they can sign up for an event and pick a babysitter for the night in a few clicks. Our design understands that people have children and a busy life, and this service is here to make this process as easy as possible.

Shown in the frames above: Say a user is free on October 10th, they are able to select that day to view their own plans and any events that may be scheduled for that day. The user sees that there is a sports mixer that afternoon and would love to attend. From here, they are able to add the event to their calendar and are also given an option to book a babysitter. If selected, it pulls up different options for babysitters, along with their contact information, so the user has the power to choose exactly in whose hands they want to put their child, while still maintaining convenience. Having all of this in one place can allow parents to easily find not only fun events, but verified people to watch their children.

Many of our survey respondents expressed that they were tired of meeting people in “traditional” settings such as in bars or restaurants. They didn’t want to go to the same old meet and greets each time and leave disappointed based on lack of connection. Therefore, we knew our design needed to cater to the fact that many people want to meet others authentically, based on similar interests or hobbies. Thus, we want our solution to contain elements that focus on learning the user’s interests in order to better recommend events as well as potential “matches” through our calendar view interface. When prioritizing shared interests, meeting people can feel more natural because there are already some conversation starters there, and a higher chance of overall compatibility.

Our solution would try to do something like frames 3 and 4: take input from users about likes/dislikes/hobbies/interests and use that to filter the events and profiles that we show them, allowing them to meet people in ways that feel a bit less forced and increase the chances that they’ll get along with other users (because they already have something in common)

Verification was also revealed as a serious concern for many participants in our research. Our design attempts to relieve these safety concerns in two ways. Firstly, participants are required to verify themselves using a standard verification process. For instance, many apps require a participant to take a photo of themselves in a specific unusual pose as proof that they took a photo. Secondly, we were able to reduce the necessity for high stakes verification by making the focus on the app more on events rather than on the people. To exemplify this, let’s say you wanted to go rock climbing at SBP and found a group of 2 or 3 people who were also interested. If these people turned out to be lying about their identity, you could always just go climb alone, since you have a reason to be there other than to meet these people.