Listen: Salt CEO and founder Paul Rider believes the Christian app dating offerings were lagging 10 years behind their mainstream counterparts
By Katrina RoeTuesday 19 Jan 2021Hope MorningsChristian LivingReading Time: 3 minutes
If you thought it was hard to meet people before the pandemic, it’s well and truly tougher now. Many churches are meeting on Zoom, social events have been drastically reduced and half the office is working from home.
So, it’s no wonder people are going online to look for love.
Salt is a new Christian dating app that has just launched in Australia, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
CEO and founder of Salt Paul Rider believes the Christian offerings in this space were lagging 10 years behind their mainstream counterparts.
“We really felt the space here needed disrupting. We needed a different solution that would enable everyone to be able to create a profile, to meet people, to match with them, to message them and to start engaging,” Paul told Hope 103.2.
He said the pandemic has led to an increase in the number of active users and messages being sent, as well as new features like video calling.
“Actually, the desire for connection and the desire to build a relationship and a friendship is something that can be done online and virtually, as long as that’s coupled with going offline as well when it’s appropriate.”
The pandemic is also giving more cautious users a chance to slow down the dating process and delay meeting for the first time.
“We’ve seen and heard from a lot of our users and actually it’s given them a chance to slow down slightly,” Paul said.
“So actually to slightly reassess, not to jump into anything, not to feel the pressure to go for that drink or that coffee tomorrow or next week or whatever. But rather to message with someone back and forth.”
Posted by SALT Christian Dating App on Wednesday, 6 January 2021
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Paul said their research shows that people feel pressure about dating within a church context.
“Sometimes people are feeling within the church context that you’re in a goldfish bowl. And everyone’s looking in. You go and ask someone for a coffee and on the second date you’re expected to have a marriage proposal.”
“We want to try and help foster more conversation around dating and relationships and what a healthy relationship looks like. But I think it’s also recognising that there is pressure as well, so actually an app can sometimes take a little bit of pressure off,” he said.
“Dating as a process can and should be a really life-giving one. As Christians, we have a chance, when we go on a date with someone, to love them as a brother and sister in Christ.”
Listen to Paul Rider, CEO and founder of Australia’s newest Christian dating app Salt, explains the current boom in online dating in the player above.