Sorry, honey: Why love isn’t in the air at the Singapore Grand Prix

Dating apps usage plunged 40% during the F1 weekend.

Love was not on many minds at the 2014 Singapore Formula 1 Grand Prix despite skyrocketing social media engagement. The usage of dating apps slipped counter-intuitively amidst rampant social media activity during the weekend of one of the biggest events in Singapore.

Dating apps Tinder and OkCupid – popular partner searching tools – decreased in activity among users by 40% during the F1 race, in a surprising turnaround from what many would have considered an optimum event for partner seeking given high attendance figures and international visitors. 

According to a report by BlisMedia, social media usage increased 191% during the F1 weekend, with YouTube, in particular, experiencing a 211%, while Facebook usage rose by 52%. 

Meanwhile, music streaming shot up during race days while news content consumption dipped during the F1 weekend.

During the event, many people plugged in to popular music streaming apps – TuneIn Radio, Grooveshark, SoundCloud and SG Radio – that likely helped to ease the wait prior to the race. The results show a 33% uplift in music streaming usage on race day when compared to a weekday. 

News content consumption was evidently less popular on race days when compared to a weekday. Commonly-visited news sites – The Straits Times, AsiaOne, Reuters and The Guardian – all witnessed a 51% decrease in usage during the event.