A Dating App Is Giving Away Free Gas to Convince People to Get Out of the House | WIREDSkip to main contentMenuSECURITYPOLITICSTHE BIG STORYBUSINESSSCIENCECULTUREREVIEWSMenuAccountAccountNewslettersSecurityPoliticsThe Big StoryBusinessScienceCultureReviewsChevronMoreExpandThe Big InterviewMagazineEventsWIRED InsiderWIRED ConsultingNewslettersPodcastsVideoLivestreamsMerchSearchSearchJason ParhamCultureMay 27, 2026 1:52 PMA Dating App Is Giving Away Free Gas to Convince People to Get Out of the HouseAmid ongoing economic anxieties, BLK and other companies are giving away basic essentials to appeal to the public.Photo-Illustration: WIRED Staff; Getty ImagesCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyCommentLoaderSave StorySave this storyWhile Gen Z catches a lot of flack for being single, or even antisocial, there's a brutal economic reality underscoring why some people aren't going out: They simply don't have the disposable income.Dating apps, already struggling to maintain user bases due to enshittification and a lack of quality matches, are contending with this affordability crisis.In a dystopian sign of the times, BLK, the app for Black singles, announced on Wednesday that it is giving away free gas in an attempt to incentivize people to go on dates.As part of the promotion, BLK is providing $500 gas gift cards to 10 people who download the app and tag three friends in the campaign post across its social channels. “Dating should not have to compete with the price of a full tank,” Amber Cooper, BLK’s head of brand, said in a statement.According to AAA, gas prices hit a four-year high over the Memorial Day weekend, with the average cost of gas now $4.56, up $1.30 from the same time in 2025. The US- and Israel-led war in Iran has spiked energy prices and could also mean higher grocery bills, exacerbating the situation.Recent studies show the average cost of a date has increased by 12.5 percent in 2026; 86 percent of US singles have hit pause on their dating life, with 33 percent of people who make under $50,000 per year saying they’ve stopped dating altogether. A new survey conducted by BLK also found that 77.6 percent of respondents said they feel financial anxiety around dating, with only 12 percent saying they currently date as much as they want.For Gen Z, the so-called sexless generation, this has led to a rise in “soft socializing,” where instead of expensive dinners and triple-digit bar tabs at TikTok’s latest trending restaurant, young people have opted for low-key meetups that cost them very little if anything at all.Brands have taken note. Instead of the swag bags of yore, some companies are appealing to users by running promotions for the most basic daily necessities.It’s not just dating apps, either. As part of a recent marketing blitz, the cast of the new Boots Riley film I Love Boosters—about a crew of professional shoplifters—hosted a gas giveaway offering to fill up the first 70 drivers at a Shell station in Los Angeles, where gas is already over $7 a gallon in some neighborhoods. In February, seemingly trying to engineer good press about the negative impacts of online betting platforms—which have led to a rise in gambling addiction in the US, according to a 2025 study—Polymarket hosted a five-day pop-up in New York City where it gave away free groceries, including food and other provisions like Tide pods and toilet paper, to hundreds of people who stood in the cold for hours waiting to get inside. (“The Bleak Scene at Polymarket’s ‘Free Grocery Store,’” a Curbed headline read.)“It’s certainly a tale of the times which one can argue are dystopian,” says Darren Martin Jr., a marketing consultant who specializes in multicultural branding. Increasingly, he says, marketing strategies “have to understand the material realities shaping society in order to connect with audiences in meaningful ways. Certainly, there are other ways but gas makes sense at this moment.”Giving campaigns aren’t unique to 2026, though they do feel more pronounced right now, Martin says, noting that radio stations have long used them as a marketing tactic.BLK’s gas giveaway is the third iteration of the app’s annual series meant to help erase financial barriers for Black daters. In 2022, BLK partnered with The Gathering Spot, a members-only club for Black professionals, and paid for dates at Black-owned businesses. The following year, BLK funded dates for singles who were financially supporting relatives at the expense of their own social lives.Match Group, which also owns Hinge and Tinder, launched BLK in 2017. The company has been undergoing a brand refresh across several of the apps in its portfolio and is focused on trying to boost membership while also winning over a growing base of users who have stopped paying for premium features. (Free users account for the lion’s share of daters on most major apps.) According to a recent financial disclosure, total paying members dropped 5 percent across Match Group apps in the first quarter of 2026.CommentsBack to topTriangleContinue Your AI EducationTake This Mandatory AI Workplace Training—or ElseMeet the Sad Wives of AICan Normies Really Vibe Code?Everyone Who Used to Make TV Is Now Secretly Training AIA WIRED Fact-Checker Fact-Checks AIHow AI Agents Plunged the Tech World Into ChaosIn your inbox: Will Knight’s AI Lab explores advances in AIJason Parham is a senior writer at WIRED where he covers internet culture, the future of sex, and online dating. His WIRED cover story “A People’s History of Black Twitter” was adapted into a Hulu docuseries in 2024 and won the AAFCA Award for Best Documentary and a Rockie Award ... Read MoreSenior WriterXblueskyTopicsdating appsIranpoliticstinderSex and RelationshipsmoneyRead MoreDating Is a Rich Person’s Game NowThe problem isn’t just the apps. 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Amidst broader economic anxieties, companies are employing promotional giveaways of basic necessities to motivate public engagement. This trend is highlighted in the context of dating applications, which are struggling with user retention due to issues of quality matches and general affordability crises. For instance, BLK, an application aimed at Black singles, incentivized users to go on dates by providing $500 gas gift cards to those who downloaded the app and tagged friends in a campaign. This initiative reflects a sentiment that dating should not be constrained by the high cost of essentials, which is exacerbated by rising energy prices, such as the four-year high seen in gas prices, and global instability affecting energy and grocery costs.

The text points to several statistics illustrating the financial hurdles in modern dating. Studies indicate that the average cost of a date has risen by 12.5 percent in 2026, and a significant portion of US singles have paused their dating lives. Furthermore, financial anxiety is prevalent in this sphere, with a survey by BLK finding that 77.6 percent of respondents experience financial anxiety surrounding dating, and only 12 percent report dating as much as they desire. This economic reality has pushed certain demographics, such as Gen Z, toward "soft socializing," opting for low-cost meetups instead of expensive dining experiences.

Brands are responding to these material realities by shifting their marketing strategies away from superficial gestures, such as swag bags, toward promotions for essential daily necessities. This approach is not unique to the dating sphere; other brands have engaged in similar giveaways. For example, the cast of the film I Love Boosters hosted a gas giveaway to fill up vehicles, while Polymarket ran a promotion giving away free groceries and provisions to participants. A marketing consultant, Darren Martin Jr., commented that effective marketing strategies must comprehend the material realities shaping society to establish meaningful connections with audiences, suggesting that providing necessities like gas makes sense in the current environment.

The challenges faced by dating platforms are connected to the business structure of the market. Match Group, which owns Hinge and Tinder, is focusing on boosting membership while competing with a growing user base of free users, as total paying members declined across its portfolio. This dynamic underscores the difficulty of monetizing dating services when fundamental economic pressures are high. Ultimately, the narrative suggests that the current environment necessitates marketing tactics that address the tangible financial constraints faced by potential users, reflecting a broader, somewhat dystopian, societal context.