Daters got woke in 2017

Not only did the use of “woke” increase by 50%, but politics and social issues were also at the forefront of conversation this year

Sure, December is a time for loving (or loathing) the holidays — but it’s also a time for reflection, looking back on the year that’s passed and asking yourself “what the hell?” Because let’s be real: 2017 was insane — and many of the things that made it insane, from covfefe to North Korea, were hot topics on OkCupid.

When we reflect on the year gone by at OkCupid, we look to our users. What were they talking about in 2017? What became less important to them this year, and what became more so? To find out, we skimmed nearly 20 million user profiles to discover what they were writing about most in 2016 compared to 2017. And here’s the thing: despite a year riddled with bad news, 2017 produced some good news as well. Because we found that daters got woke in 2017. First of all, they got woke literally — though you (understandably) may be rolling your eyes that we’re actually using “woke” in a (somewhat?) scientific piece, use of woke in user profiles increased 50% this year. More importantly, however, they actually got woke: political terms, and words and phrases associated with social causes, saw an impressive increase in usage this year.

Politics