Goodbye Tinder, hello Strava: have hobby apps become the new social networks?

Hobby apps such as Strava, Goodreads and Letterboxd are drawing users away from social media and dating apps, according to this feature, which presents their gentler, interest-based communities as an alternative. Strava user numbers grew 20% in a year, per Sensor Tower, and Letterboxd grew from 1.8 million users in March 2020 to more than 14 million this summer. Goodreads has more than 150 million members. Match Group, which operates Tinder and Hinge, has seen its share price fall from above $175 in October 2021 to about $36, and it announced 6% job cuts in July. Dr Carolina Are of Northumbria University attributes the shift partly to disillusionment with algorithm-driven dating.