New online dating app specifically for Christians promises a more secure experience with less scams.

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA, UNITED STATES, November 1, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ — According to the FBI’s most recent Internet Crimes Report, Americans reported over $956 million in romance scam losses just last year. Jason Lee, founder of the Christian dating app Higher Bond, says Christians may be the most vulnerable to the scams.

“Scammers often use photos of real people they have copied from other profiles,” says Lee. “When the victim asks to video chat or meet the scammer in person, the scammer comes up with an excuse as to why they can’t. They will pretend to be in the military or a traveling executive or any profession where they may be out of town a lot and might not have access to cell phone or WIFI service to video chat. The scam generally takes shape with a story about a sick child, medical bills, unexpected financial issues, or insufficient funds to come visit their victim. Because they prey on the heart strings of their victims, Christians are especially vulnerable to their schemes.”

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.

“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.

“With Higher Bond, 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 they have also created free resources which 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. “We offer training resources that address 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.”

Gina Adams
The Adams Group
+1 615-776-1590
email us here
Visit us on social media:
Facebook
Twitter
Instagram