If Indians wear their heart on one sleeve, they wear their politics on the other.
Over 90% of young Indian men and women believe it is important to stay informed about political issues and current affairs, according to data collected by American dating platform OkCupid from its users. Voting was also important to these 25- to 35-year-olds, as was participating in protests.
The average number of users responding to OkCupid’s app prompts was 200,000.
To gauge what Indian millennials and Gen Z-ers feel about the current political climate, and help them meet more like-minded people, the dating platform recently added three new questions about the ongoing protests against the National Register of Citizens and the Citizenship Amendment Act.
Several of the 35,000 respondents who answered the new questions were unsure of whether they supported the protests.
Most men said they would date partners with an opposing view on the subject, but a higher share of women was concerned about political preferences.
Millennials also seemed divided on the issue of police action against protestors, which became a flashpoint during protests at Jamia Millia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University.
Love trumps all
Despite their political leanings, millennial men and women were not opinionated enough to jeopardise their chances at finding partners on the platform. Over 60% respondents said they prefer not to talk about their political views during dates, at the dinner table, or in the bedroom.
“This is different from 70% of Americans on OkCupid, who have marked political disagreement as a deal-breaker. Clearly, a lesser number of Indians are ‘turned off’ by a potential partner’s political opinions,” Melissa Hobley, chief marketing officer at OkCupid, told Quartz.
In India, men and women largely stuck to safer topics like music and sports.
Women seemed to be more conscious of matching with partners with the same or similar political beliefs. Only 21% of the men in India said they cared about their partner’s political leanings, whereas it was a matter of concern for 54% women.
This article first appeared on Quartz.
