Solving The Population Crisis: The Romantic Way AND The Traditional Way

East Asia is currently grappling with a significant demographic challenge: a declining birth rate. Countries like China, Japan, and South Korea are witnessing a demographic shift where the number of births is decreasing at an alarming rate. To counteract this trend, governments and societies are exploring various strategies to encourage marriage and childbirth. In this context, technology could play a pivotal role, with matchmaking apps like Auntie offering a modern solution to an age-old problem.

The Population Crisis in East Asia: East Asia's population crisis is multifaceted, stemming from factors such as changing societal norms, economic pressures, and the pursuit of individual aspirations over traditional family structures. The consequence is a shrinking workforce, an aging population, and strains on social welfare systems. Governments are incentivizing marriage and parenthood through policies like financial benefits, parental leave, and childcare support, but these efforts often fall short of reversing the declining birth rates.

Auntie App: Redefining Matchmaking for Marriage: Today, matchmaking has evolved beyond traditional methods. Auntie, a cutting-edge matchmaking application, offers a platform for parents to assist their children in finding compatible romantic partners. This innovative approach combines the wisdom of older generations with the convenience and efficiency of modern technology. By leveraging algorithms and user preferences, Auntie facilitates meaningful connections while respecting cultural sensitivities and familial involvement in the matchmaking process.

How Auntie App Works: Auntie operates as a user-friendly platform where parents create profiles for their children, detailing preferences and desired qualities in a partner. The app employs advanced matchmaking algorithms to suggest potential matches based on compatibility factors such as personality traits, values, and lifestyle preferences. Parents can then review profiles, initiate conversations, and arrange meetings for their children, ensuring personalized approach to matchmaking, facilitated by somebody who knows the eligible single best.

Benefits of Auntie App in Addressing the Population Crisis:

1. Cultural Sensitivity: Auntie recognizes the significance of familial input in partner selection, respecting cultural norms prevalent in East Asian societies.

2. Efficiency: The app streamlines the matchmaking process, saving time and effort for both parents and their children.

3. Compatibility: By considering various compatibility factors, Auntie enhances the likelihood of successful and long-lasting relationships, fostering a conducive environment for marriage and parenthood.

4. Community Support: Auntie cultivates a supportive community where parents can exchange advice, share success stories, and navigate the complexities of modern dating culture.

The population crisis facing East Asia requires innovative solutions that blend tradition with modernity. Auntie app emerges as a promising tool to revitalize the institution of marriage and address declining birth rates by facilitating meaningful connections between individuals. As societies embrace technological advancements to tackle demographic challenges, platforms like Auntie offer a beacon of hope for a brighter demographic future in East Asia. Embracing change and leveraging technology could pave the way for a resurgence in marriage and childbirth, ensuring a sustainable and prosperous future for generations to come.

Modern Dating Needs a Traditional Solution: Bridging Tradition and Technology in Jewish Dating

In a world dominated by swipes and algorithms, the art of matchmaking seems to have lost its charm. But what if we told you that the key to finding your soulmate lies in a perfect blend of tradition and technology? Enter Auntie, a groundbreaking app revolutionizing the Jewish dating scene by merging age-old matchmaking customs with the convenience of modern technology.

Embracing Tradition in the Digital Age

Dating has evolved over the years, and while the ease of connecting with people online has its advantages, there's something timeless about the traditional approach to matchmaking. In Jewish culture, the concept of shidduchim (arranged marriages) has been a cornerstone for generations. Auntie aims to bridge the gap between the old and the new, providing a platform where parents take on the role of shadchanim (matchmakers) in a digital setting.

The Power of Community Connection

One of the most significant aspects of Auntie is its focus on community. In a world where individualism often takes center stage, connecting with like-minded families can make all the difference. The app encourages parents to create profiles for their children, fostering a sense of community involvement in the matchmaking process. This not only ensures compatibility based on shared values and backgrounds but also strengthens the fabric of the Jewish community.

Balancing Autonomy with Tradition

Auntie recognizes the importance of individual agency in modern dating. While parents play a pivotal role in initiating connections, the app also ensures that young people have a say in their matchmaking journey. By providing a platform where both generations can actively participate, Auntie creates a harmonious balance between tradition and autonomy.

The Healthiest Form of Dating: Auntie's Unique Approach

Auntie stands out as the healthiest form of dating by fostering genuine connections rooted in tradition, family values, and shared cultural backgrounds. The app recognizes that a successful relationship goes beyond surface-level attraction, emphasizing compatibility at a deeper level.

Join Auntie: Where Tradition Meets Technology

In a world where dating apps are a dime a dozen, Auntie emerges as a beacon of hope for those seeking meaningful connections within the Jewish community. By combining the wisdom of tradition with the efficiency of technology, Auntie opens the door to a new era of dating where the past and present coexist harmoniously.

Say goodbye to endless swiping and hello to a more intentional, community-driven approach to finding love. Join Auntie today and embark on a journey that transcends the ordinary, bringing you closer to a love that lasts a lifetime.

Parental Matchmaking on the Rise in the East

Declining birth rates and an aging population can be devastating to a country's economy if the demographics get so top heavy that the young can't care for the old. Countries like Japan are turning to traditional parental matchmaking, where the parents take a roll in setting up relationships for their kids. This is why the average number of married couples being introduced by parents worldwide has gone from 55% in 2010 to 60% in 2020. Auntie will make this process easy, efficient, and affordable, as the world continues to turn more towards this four billion dollar industry that has been (up until now) totally un-digitalized. See the following article from Chris Lau and Junko Fukutome at CNN addressing the subject:

It’s a steamy summer afternoon in the Japanese city of Osaka, where a group of around 60 men and women have gathered for a session of “omiai,” or matchmaking, to find true love.

They mingle away, hopping from one end of the conference room at the Sakai Chamber of Commerce building to another as they assess potential matches – and the competition.

But this is no ordinary speed-dating event.

Few of the participants are talking about their favorite hobbies, movies or restaurants, or indeed, even about themselves. They are talking about their grown-up, still single children who they are hoping to match up and marry off.

One woman, in her 60s, speaks proudly of her 34-year-old son, a public elementary school teacher. A man in his 80s talks affectionately about his career-minded son, 49, who works as a controller at an electric company.

Each of the parents has forked out 14,000 yen ($96) to attend this event, hosted by the matchmaking agency Association of Parents of Marriage Proposal Information. And they are all hoping to meet someone just like them; a parent whose still single daughter or son might be the perfect match for their own lonesome child.

It’s not that Japan, a notoriously work-obsessed nation where time is at a premium, hasn’t tried out the more direct approach to speed-dating, where the youngsters do it for themselves. It’s more that leaving the young to it doesn’t seem to be working.

With rising living costs, poor economic prospects and the demanding work culture conspiring against them, fewer Japanese today are opting to get married and have children. Their parents, alarmed at their diminishing chances of grandchildren, are stepping in.

“The idea that it is okay for parents to help their children get married in this way has become more widespread,” said the company’s director Noriko Miyagoshi, who has been organizing matchmaking events for almost two decades.

In the past people might have been ashamed of coming to these events, she added.

“But times have changed.”

Marriage crisis

The same forces that are driving these parents to the Osaka conference room have been playing havoc with the demographics of the world’s third biggest economy.

In Japan today, there are fewer marriages, fewer births and fewer people. The population has long been on a downward trajectory and in the year up to January, according to government data, it suffered a record plunge of 800,523 to 125.4 million.

Behind that plummeting population is the ever falling number of marriages and births.

In 2021, the number of newly registered marriages fell to 501,116, the fewest since the end of World War II in 1945, and just half the number recorded in the 1970s. And when people do get married, they are doing so at later stages of life, leaving less time to make babies. The median age for tying the knot in 2021 was 34 for men, up from 29 in 1990, and 31, up from 27, for women.

Alongside the drop in marriages has been a slide in the fertility rate, which last year hit a record low of 1.3, far below the 2.1 required to maintain a stable population.

All of that has left a growing headache for a government that must somehow fund the healthcare and pensions of a rapidly aging population with an ever-dwindling number of young tax payers.

Earlier this year, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida unveiled a multitrillion-yen plan aimed at boosting the birth rate, warning it was a case of “now or never.”

Among the incentives offered to parents were a monthly allowance of 15,000 yen ($100) for every child they had up to two years old and 10,000 yen for those three and above.

But James Raymo, an East Asian Studies expert at Princeton University, said trying to boost the birth rate was unlikely to work without first boosting the marriage rate.

“It’s not really an issue of married couples having fewer children. It’s about whether people are getting married in the first place,” Raymo said.

Failing to address the issue would have grave consequences, said sociologist Shigeki Matsuda, from Chukyo University in Aichi, Japan.

“Major concerns include a decline in the country’s overall economic strength and national wealth, difficulty in maintaining social security, and a loss of social capital in local communities,” he said.

Turn offs

So what’s turning people off?

Matsuda said it’s not that people no longer have the desire to get married per se – some 80% still do, according to a survey by the National Institute of Population and Social Security last year.

It’s more that they believe the obstacles in the way are insurmountable.

Young Japanese have faced poor employment prospects and flat wages since the 1990s, he pointed out. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the average annual paycheck in Japan increased only 5% from 1991 to 2021 – compared to a rise of 34% in other G7 economies such as France and Germany.

“This has weakened their economic capacity to start marriages,” Matsuda said.

Raymo had a similar view, saying Japan’s high cost of living and notoriously long working hours made things worse.

“If you’re working 70 hours a week, then of course you won’t have a suitable partner, because you have no time to meet one,” he said.

The depth of the crisis can be glimpsed in supermarket aisles and convenience stories, where shelves are full of pre-packaged meals catering to one, or in the streets full of tiny apartments tailor-made for single life, Raymo added.

“This is a country that’s designed to make single living as easy as possible,” he said.

For women, economic costs are not the only turn off. Japan remains a highly patriarchal society in which married women are often expected to take the caregiver role, despite government efforts to get husbands more involved.

“Although Japan is legally equal between men and women, in reality, there is a deep-seated belief among men and women that women should still bear children and raise them, while men should work outside the home,” said Miyagoshi, the matchmaker.

No need for ‘awkward conversations’

Back at the Sakai Chamber of Commerce, light music plays to sooth the mood in what might otherwise seem an unlikely setting for Cupid to draw his bow.

CNN attended the gathering on the condition that those taking part were quoted anonymously to protect their privacy.

Some of the parents have attended a few sessions already, others are first timers, and the stakes are high. Each of them has come armed with a completed questionnaire about their offspring, which asks things like whether they would be willing to relocate if things work out. The parents also carry profile pictures, many of them professionally shot, some showing young women dressed to impress in traditional kimonos.

Most of the photos are of spinsters and bachelors in their 30s and 40s; the youngest is 28 and the eldest 51, and they have a range of professions, from doctors and nurses to civil servants and secretaries.

One couple, in their 80s, say their 49-year-old son has been spending too much time at work to pay attention to his love life.

They have always wanted grandchildren so they decided to attend the matchmaking after reading about it in a newspaper.

Another couple, in their 70s, say their 42-year-old daughter doesn’t date because she wants to be free to hang out with her college friends whenever she wants. They want someone who can take care of their daughter, and say she is happy for them to do the searching.

Others have been asked by their children to attend the event. One mother, in her 60s, says her 37-year-old daughter has become anxious at seeing friends her age getting married and having children. She says she regrets not pushing her daughter to find a partner when she was younger.

The agency estimates that about 10% of those it matches up go on to get married, though it says the true figure could be higher because parents don’t necessarily let them know how their children’s relationships progress.

One mother, whose daughter married through the matchmaking service, recalled lining up to meet the parent of a popular candidate and feeling surprised when she got a call back asking if their offspring could meet.

At first sight, she said, “my daughter just started staring at him and that’s when I knew she had found her match.”

The pair are now married.

She says there are advantages to involving only the parents in the beginning; they can be more upfront in expressing what their children want and don’t want.

“[The children] don’t have the awkward conversations that would sometimes be remembered for years in a relationship,” she said.

Search for a match, hope for a grandchild

For many of the parents, it is the lure of grandchildren that draws them to the matchmaking events, says Miyagoshi.

She often comes across parents of men in their 40s who are searching for women in their late 20s and early 30s.

One father complained that he hadn’t been able to set up his 40-year-old son despite exchanging his profile with 10 other parents, she said.

On a closer look, she found out the father had turned down all the women in their mid-30s and those more educated than his son. He also rejected a candidate who did not have male siblings – women in this situation are seen as a burden in the eyes of traditional Japanese parents who believe they will be distracted by having to take care of their in-laws when they grow old.

But however great the yearning for grandchildren, Miyagoshi says she always emphasizes to parents that their children should come first.

“No matter how much the parents feel for each other, their children must be on board. No matter how much parents want grandchildren, the children must be willing to have children,” she said.

It may sound an unlikely thing for a professional matchmaker to say, but Miyagoshi believes in “go-en”, a Japanese concept referring to romance that sprouts from meeting the right person at the right time.

“No matter how much effort you put into it, sometimes it will not work out. That’s marriage,” she said.

The Power of Family Connections: Auntie Matchmaking App Revolutionizes Frum Dating

In the digital age, where countless dating apps cater to a wide range of preferences, it's refreshing to see a platform that puts family connections at the forefront. Auntie Matchmaking, the innovative dating app piloting in the frum community, embraces the age-old wisdom that family involvement can bring unparalleled success to the search for a life partner. Designed for all but with a pilot focus on the Orthodox Jewish community, this app is transforming the way people meet and fostering meaningful connections rooted in shared values, whether users are  hashkafa, Chabad, frum, observant, Sephardic, Ashkenazi, or anything else.

Embracing Tradition:

Auntie Matchmaking brings a traditional approach to modern dating. It recognizes the importance of family involvement, a cornerstone of Orthodox Jewish culture, in the process of finding a suitable match. By involving parents and trusted family members, the app ensures that matches are based on compatibility, shared values, and common life goals, leading to more meaningful and lasting relationships.

Holistic Compatibility:

Unlike many other dating apps that focus solely on superficial traits, Auntie Matchmaking takes a holistic approach to compatibility. It recognizes that compatibility goes beyond mere physical attraction and includes religious observance, cultural background, and shared aspirations. By involving parents who know their children best, the app allows for a more comprehensive evaluation of potential matches, increasing the likelihood of finding someone who aligns with one's life goals and beliefs.

The Wisdom of Auntie Matchmakers:

The term "Auntie Matchmaking" embodies the idea of wise and experienced family members who genuinely care about the happiness and well-being of their loved ones. These trusted individuals have a wealth of knowledge and intuition that can guide them in finding suitable matches for their children. Auntie Matchmaking app empowers these family members to become modern-day matchmakers, leveraging their wisdom and insights to bring compatible individuals together. Furthermore, community and professional shadchanim are invited to take part, and can find many new potential shidduchim that they may not have been able to find without Auntie Matchmaking. 

A Safe and Secure Community:

Auntie Matchmaking fosters a safe and secure community for frum and non-frum daters alike. By focusing on family connections, the Auntie dating app inherently establishes a network of trust and accountability. Users can feel confident that potential matches have been vetted by caring family members who share their values. This emphasis on safety helps create a welcoming environment where individuals can explore meaningful connections with peace of mind.

Nurturing Authentic Relationships:

In a world where online dating often encourages casual encounters and superficial connections, Auntie Matchmaking encourages the development of genuine and authentic relationships. By incorporating family members into the shidduch process, the app promotes deeper conversations, shared values, and a focus on long-term compatibility. It prioritizes meaningful connections over fleeting encounters, aligning with the values and desires of the Orthodox Jewish community.

Auntie Matchmaking is more than just a frum dating app; it is a platform that harnesses the power of family connections to facilitate meaningful relationships. By involving parents and trusted family members, the app embraces tradition, ensures compatibility rooted in shared values, and fosters a safe and secure community. With Auntie Matchmaking, the search for a life partner becomes a journey guided by trusted advisors who genuinely care about the happiness and well-being of their loved ones. It's time to embrace the wisdom of Auntie Matchmakers and embark on a path towards love, connection, and fulfillment. Download the Auntie Matchmaking app today and discover the transformative power of family connections in Jewish dating.

How Did a Bangladeshi and a White Guy Create Matrimony App Targeting (among others) Jews, Indians, and East Asians?

Auntie is the sort of app one would expect to find coming out of India or South Korea. People hear the idea and say, “So this is like an arranged marriage app?” The truth is that Auntie is much more nuanced and complex than an arranged marriage app, and the story that led to Auntie’s creation is long and intricate, somewhat revealing the sophistication of the app itself.

Auntie is an app for the new Asia, from Israel to Japan; it is a humble and respectful step forward, a blend of tradition and progress. It is designed to bring together the parents and kids who use it to find love, rather than drive a wedge between them. Auntie is an app for modern family matchmaking. This term, “modern family matchmaking,” is something we have developed to describe what happens on Auntie. It is the coming together of the East and the West, tradition and technology, respect for parents and respect for the younger generation. This could only be created by two entrepreneurs who come from different worlds.

Hart grew up in Silicon Valley, California. Of arranged marriage, rishta matchmaking, family matchmaking, parental matchmaking, and professional matchmaking, Hart had very little exposure. What he did have exposure to was the technology world, app development, and entrepreneurship. Hart grew up seeing first hand the creation of Facebook, Google, and Apple in his own backyard. He learned to understand the power of technology and the historical importance of digitizing human behavior.

In 2017 at the age of 20, Hart moved to India where he worked at an IT company in Haridwar, Uttarakhand, North India. Here he made many friends. Together they went to weddings, temples, and took motorcycle trips into the Himalayas. This was when Hart was first introduced to traditions such as arranged marriage, family matchmaking, and professional matchmaking. It was here where Hart combined the ideas of arranged marriage and family matchmaking and these new cultures and traditions he was being introduced to with his understanding of technology, mobile apps, and entrepreneurship. It struck Hart to create a family matchmaking app, what could sound like an arranged marriage, to serve the modern India, and beyond, where parents and kids consent to work together to find the perfect match.

Hart couldn’t start yet though, so he spent the next few years looking for the right cofounder to start the company with. Eventually Hart found Ahmed, who was the perfect business partner. Ahmed had had somewhat of an inverse experience with Hart. Ahmed grew up in Bangladesh where he understood from a young age the traditions of family matchmaking and the importance of family. He moved to California to study engineering at Stanford when he was a teenager, and it was here where he learned more about entrepreneurship, app development, and technology.

So both Ahmed and Hart, the two founders of Auntie: Family Matchmaking, had reciprocal experiences which made them perfect to start a family matchmaking app, what some may refer to as an “arranged marriage app” even though that doesn’t quite capture it. It is not an app for arranged marriage in the traditional sense, but an app that reflects the unique mix of tradition and modernity that Ahmed grew up with and Hart recognized as an untapped opportunity. It is an app where the tradition of family matchmaking and parental matchmaking are respected, while the desires of the young people and pursuit of love is the number one consideration by the parents. It is an app for the new world where tradition and love are in harmony. Some may call it an app for arranged marriage, some may call it a family matrimony app, some may call it a rishta search or a family matchmaking app. We call it Auntie: Family Matchmaking, and we believe it will change the landscape of dating.