For the past decade, mobile dating apps like Tinder, Bumble and Coffee Meets Bagel – all launched between 2012 and 2014 – have reshaped the dating scene, readily presenting available singles at one’s fingertips.
According to a survey on dating apps conducted by online market research company Rakuten Insight in October 2024, over half of the respondents in Hong Kong said they used such platforms at least once a week, with Tinder being the most popular.
Even though meeting someone online is no longer considered a social taboo, many singletons around the globe have still not found love just by swiping.
Some are now turning to alternative ways to meet potential love interests – not virtually, but in real life.
Run clubs, for instance, have become hook-up hotspots in recent years. Usually calling for low commitment at little to no charge, these weekly events have become synonymous with steady and generous offerings of physically fit young people.
When Hong Kong-based Terence Tsim joined the local branch of Midnight Runners in mid-2024 after a break-up, he wanted to “find new activities and a way to meet different people”.
