BENGALURU : With 20 million voters eager to cast their votes for the first time in the Lok Sabha elections, brands are doing their best to encourage the youth to make an informed decision. Tinder, an app for meeting new people launched ‘Every single vote counts’ awareness campaign across the country in collaboration with Yuvaa– a youth media organization and Mark Your Presence, a non-partisan organization that aims to empower and educate young voters. The company witnessed a three-times increase in the number of individuals who are adding ‘voting’ in their Tinder Bios.
The platform introduced in-app voting-themed stickers such as ‘Voting partner needed’, ‘First-time voter’, and ‘I voted’ for users to display on their profiles. Until May 15 users will see ‘Swipe Cards ’ on the app highlighting the process of voting and tips for documentation. Each Swipe Card will direct the relevant Tinder user to the Mark Your Presence website for information on voter registration and how to complete the process.
A survey conducted by Yuvaa of 18-24-year-olds across Bengaluru, Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata in 2024 showed that when it comes to voting and dating preferences, 60% of GenZ respondents strongly prefer dating someone who votes and 1 in 3 of surveyed young adults expressed that they would find a potential match more attractive if they know the person is taking the elections seriously.
Speaking to TNIE, Chaitanya Prabhu, founder, Mark Your Presence said that everyone wants youngsters to contribute to the electoral process, but have very little information on how to navigate through the system. “We don’t want to influence their decisions but in the most non-partisan ways we want to make them aware of how the Lok Sabha polls and state elections affect their everyday lives, the role of an MP, MLA and other leaders.” The 25-year-old added that he has been receiving a good response and the ‘tide is changing’ with more individuals from the community wanting to contribute.
Aahana Dhar, Tinder’s Communications director in India said, “Over half of Tinder’s users are aged between 18 to 25 years old and this collaboration is a great opportunity to encourage younger and newer voters to go to the ballot. We know young daters are passionate about key events that impact their lives and Tinder is giving them a way to express their intent directly apart from raising awareness about voter registration for first-timers.”
Change your mindset and vote: Girinath to youth
District Election Officer (DEO) and Chief Commissioner Tushar Girinath appealed to students to change their mindset and vote without fail in the Lok Sabha elections. He was speaking after launching a voting awareness programme held on Saturday at Seshadripuram College, Gandhinagar. “To fulfil your aspirations, you should go to the polling stations, cast your votes without fail and choose the best candidate,” Girinath said. He also added that India has a huge number of young people, which is why everyone should vote voluntarily. Every vote is important in an election and voting should be everyone’s first priority on April 26, he said.