Free online seminar in October will educate singles ministries on the dangers of online dating

NEWS SOURCE: Adams Group

For Immediate Release (Las Vegas, NV) — According to a 2023 survey from Healthy Framework, one out of three people say they have sought professional counseling after using online dating apps, and 79% said they experienced emotional fatigue or burnout from using dating apps. With 80% of Christians saying they have tried online dating and 44% of Christians singles say they actively using three-to-five dating apps and sites, mental health issues are now coming into play, even for believers. Jason Lee, founder of the new Christian dating app Higher Bond, says certain dating apps are causing addictive behaviors to surface. He and other experts will be hosting a free online seminar for church leaders, pastors, and singles ministries on October 19.

“There is a lot of research showing that swipe dating is causing serious mental health problems for singles,” says Lee. “On average, users scroll through profiles 20 hours per week which builds an addictive dopamine loop much like drugs, alcohol, and gambling addictions do. People join these apps and start swiping. When they get their first match, it fires a high-level dopamine rush to the brain. From there, people keep swiping to chase that high, but there are a lot of reasons they’ll never achieve that same feeling. The problem is so bad that people are even experiencing withdrawal symptoms such as twitchy fingers when they don’t use the apps.”

Lee spent over eight years working with both Christian and mainstream dating apps, and he began to see that so called “Christian” apps were what he describes as “spun versions of popular worldly dating apps with the name of Christ stamped in their branding.” Most apps, he says, promote worldly views on dating, allow inappropriate content, and fail to provide a safe environment for Christian singles. But during a Sunday morning sermon, Lee felt God press upon he and his wife (whom he met on a dating app) to do something different.

“Our pastor was talking about the degradation of the family unit and the negative effects it was having on the Christian community,” says Lee. “It was then that God put it on my heart that we needed to do something to provide a safe and effective way for Christians to better connect romantically. I felt that this would be a way to bring about real change with the potential for a generational impact. I shared this vision with my wife, we prayed about it for a while, and eventually put our ‘yes’ on the table. She and I actually met through a dating app, and all we talked about on our first date was how awful the experience of online dating had been. Higher Bond is our attempt to give Christians a safe environment that will be God-honoring.”

Lee says safety is a top priority at Higher Bond with every single member’s profile manually reviewed and approved. Additionally, all photos are manually reviewed, and they take a “hardline stance” on modesty with photos. And, he says, there is absolutely no swiping.

“New members answer 35 questions about their faith, lifestyle, and relationship goals, which helps our team provide 3-5 curated matches daily,” says Lee. “These are questions like ‘How important is prayer to you?’ ‘Do you watch R-rated movies or shows?’ From these matches, members are able to select only one person that they can start a new conversation with. It’s all about quality over quantity.”

Lee says the October 19 online seminar will help support church leaders who want to understand how their singles interact with one another.

“As millions of Christian singles turn to online dating each year, we feel it’s important for church leaders, pastors, and singles group leaders to be prepared to support and educate those who choose this path,” says Lee. “For the October 19 event, we will have experts available to answer questions and talk about several topics including the hidden dangers of online dating for Christians, real world examples of what Christians have encountered when online dating, the mental effects of swipe-based matchmaking, the link between technology addiction and online dating, terminology and buzzwords to know, and practical ways to support singles who choose to date online. Church leaders need to be aware of the most common dangers and scams. Many of the horror stories you hear about online dating are easily avoidable with education, and we want to be a resource to empower and equip church leaders to better serve the singles in their congregations.”

The free online event is October 19 at 1:00 pm EST. Registration link: https://thestateofdating.com/.