Interest in pick-up lines has seen a lot of volatility. They’re far less popular than they used to be, but why? For a start, the rise of “pick-up artists” and their behaviour has likely tarnished even the concept of pick-up lines. But it’s possible the rise of dating apps has had an effect too, as singletons are looking for different methods for finding a partner.

From 2016 to 2019, searches about pick-up lines decreased as those for dating apps rose. Correlation is not causation of course, but it’s reasonable to assume that, as more people can simply open an app to look for dates, the need for a good opening line diminished.

Or at least that may have been the case for a while.

Searches for dating apps have remained pretty steady since 2019 (although there has been a jump in recent months). During the same time, pick-up line searches spiked as we headed into the pandemic. Considering we reduced our social interactions at this point, what caused this?

When we look at the data, it’s dating apps that are the cause. While search interest for them didn’t grow, it seems like competition on the apps did increase. One driver of pick-up line searches in this time related to pick-up lines specifically to use on dating apps. Clearly people were looking for help to stand out on these platforms.

But that’s the global picture. Let’s see how things look at a more local level, starting with the US.

While, historically, interest in pick-up lines was more resilient compared to global levels, the US has seen a far sharper drop off in recent times. It’s now at its lowest level based on the available Google data, and this year saw dating app searches overtake pick-up line searches for the first time.

If this trend continues, could we see a similar picture in the US to Germany’s?

Here, pick-up lines have never been popular. In fact, they’ve recently faced a steep decline to their lowest point, with Germany ranking as one of the lowest countries in the world when it comes to pick-up line searches as a proportion of total searches. Only France, Italy, Japan, and Vietnam sit behind them.

Dating apps haven’t struggled in Germany though, seeing consistent growth since 2014. As of this month, searches are at their highest level yet. That’s going to be a tough scene to stand out in right now. But at least you’re probably safe from awful opening lines.

Warning signs

If you’ve not heard of the term “red flag” before, it refers to behaviour, usually in a dating context, that signifies someone is to be avoided. Irrational jealousy or anger are two very common examples.

But they can also be more subjective and personal, and a red flag for one person, may mean nothing to another.

Whatever you define as a red flag, based on social media data, it’s clear more and more people are looking out for them.

Mentions of red flags started rising at speed in 2021, possibly spurred by a post-Covid return to in-person dating. It’s not hard to imagine some people’s social skills had slipped in the year before.

That massive spike in October last year came as the red flag concept sparked its own meme. Thousands of people shared the red flags they looked out for. Even Dolly Parton herself got involved.

That’s how you know a meme has really made it.

Join our Grow With Social Facebook community

Have some thoughts on today’s bulletin? Or maybe some questions about the data? Why not share them over at our Grow With Social community. We’re very friendly, we promise.

What should we cover next?

Is there a topic, trend, or industry you’d like us to feature in the Brandwatch Bulletin? We want to hear your ideas to ensure our readers get what they want. We may even ask to interview you if you’re involved with the topic.

Send any and all ideas to [email protected] and let’s talk.

Thanks for reading

If you liked what you saw today, sign up for the Brandwatch Bulletin now. We’ll be back next week. See you then.

Stay safe,

The Brandwatch Bulletin team