iWorld
Bumble introduces a healthy queer dating guide to encourage kindness and inclusivity
Mumbai: Bumble, the women-first dating app, launched a one-of-a-kind Healthy Queer Dating Guide, developed in partnership with Social Media Matters, and supported by Rangeen Khidki, Sappho for Equality, Official Humans of Queer, in consultation with equal rights activists Harish Iyer and Manak Matiyani, aims to promote kindness and encourage an inclusive dating experience on the app and beyond.
Bumble is founded on respect and accountability and aims to build a space for everyone to authentically connect and express themselves. Bumble’s State of the Nation 2023 Report* found that 69% of LGBTQ+ respondents compared to 56 per cent of heterosexual or straight daters say being nervous talking to new people created friction for them when dating. 40 per cent of LGBTQ+ respondents compared to 30 per cent of heterosexual or straight daters said not feeling confident being themselves on dates created friction for them when dating someone.
Recognising the unique complexities faced by LGBTQ+ daters, Bumble’s Healthy Queer Dating Guide covers a wide range of topics, including navigating first dates, the journey to second dates, kindness in conversations, how to approach dating when prioritising one’s emotional needs and so on, and aims to create a kinder and more inclusive online dating environment.
“As a company rooted in kindness, respect, and online accountability, we aim to foster a diverse and inclusive community on Bumble where everyone can authentically express themselves. We are thrilled to partner with experts, thought leaders and organisations in India, who do such important work for LGBTQ+ communities, to develop this healthy queer dating guide. Our shared goal is to empower and enhance dating experiences for LGBTQ+ daters in India and hopes to contribute to creating a kinder and more inclusive future for online dating” shared Bumble India communications director Samarpita Samaddar.
Social Media Matters CEO Pratishtha Arora said, “The healthy queer dating guide is an initiative to celebrate the vibrant diversity of relationships, empower connections, and help individuals navigate the dating space more confidently. We would like to thank Bumble for building the guide, created to help individuals in the journey of inclusivity, compassion, and self-discovery as we navigate the path to meaningful connections.”
Bumble has introduced features and policies to help make the app a kind, respectful and inclusive space. This includes Incognito mode, which lets you have more control over who can see your profile while swiping, taking a stance against identity-based hate, moderating for harassment, fetishization, homophobic and body-shaming language, and more. Private Detector and Photo Verification, as well as the ability to Unmatch or Block and Report within the app, are long-standing safety features within Bumble’s robust safety tools to encourage their community to have a safer and healthier dating experience. On the Bumble app, people can expand upon their gender identities and sexual orientations, enabling them to better express themselves in a way that best reflects who they are, with options such as “trans woman,” “intersex man,” “genderfluid,” and more. This can be changed at any time, as many times as the person would like. People can also choose to share their gender identity and pronouns directly on their profile. Bumble worked closely in collaboration with GLAAD (Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) to help ensure that Bumble is thoughtfully serving the needs of its diverse communities.
Bumble has updated the member experience for matches with nonbinary people, where either person can make the first move on Bumble Date. Women will continue to make the first move in matches with men and, in matches between people of the same gender, either person can make the first move.
People can also easily access the Safety + Wellbeing Centre resource hub within the app built to help our community have a safe and healthy dating experience.
iWorld
Micro-dramas rewrite India’s digital storytelling rules
New format delivers 800 hours of content and Rs 650 crore in revenue in 2025 alone.
MUMBAI: Micro-dramas just turned two-minute attention spans into a full-blown industry because when your story has to hook someone before they swipe away, every second counts like a cliffhanger.
At the FICCI-EY Media & Entertainment Industry Report launch, a high-powered panel explored how micro-dramas are reshaping content creation, discovery and monetisation in India’s digital ecosystem. Moderated by film critic Stutee Ghosh, the session featured Karan Bedi (Director & Head, Amazon MX Player), Kunj Sanghvi (SVP – Content, Kuku TV), Neha Markanda (chief business officer, Sharechat and Moj), Saameer Mody (Founder & MD, Pocket Films & Pocket TV) and Shweta Bajpai (Group Director – Finserv, Media, Travel and Services, Meta India).
The discussion opened with a clear question: what exactly is a micro-drama? Kunj Sanghvi offered the most precise definition, positioning it as content that sits comfortably between long-form films and short-form Reels. “It is feature-length stories 90 to 100 minutes in total told in 45 to 50 episodes of roughly two minutes each,” he explained. The real differentiator, he added, lies in algorithmic distribution on social feeds. A strong cliffhanger at the end of each snippet creates an “uncontrollable urge” to download the app and continue, turning passive scrolling into active consumption.
Shweta Bajpai brought a platform perspective, noting that micro-drama perfectly combines three major trends that have been building for the past four to five years, short-form video, creator-led storytelling, and episodic entertainment. She pointed out that 71 per cent of consumers discovered the category only in the last six months, with a staggering 89 per cent stumbling upon it organically while browsing Reels or Facebook feeds. Once hooked, they click the call-to-action and start bingeing.
One of the most striking revelations was the solitary nature of consumption. According to Meta’s report with Ormax Media, 90 per cent of micro-drama viewing happens alone. This private, personal-screen habit gives creators room to experiment with edgier, more intimate or bold narratives that might not work in a shared family viewing environment.
The panel addressed the frequent criticism that micro-dramas are merely dopamine hits rather than proper storytelling. Saameer Mody countered that telling a compelling story in a very short time is actually harder than in long-form. “Short filmmakers have always said it’s tougher to deliver your message in limited time,” he noted, comparing it to advertising, which has told complete stories in under 30 seconds for decades. “Two minutes is luxury,” he quipped.
Neha Markanda observed that the format’s rapid acceleration has surprised even insiders. From 150 million daily views shortly after launch to 400 million today, with average time spent nearing 50 minutes per day, the growth has been “beyond phenomenal.” She estimated that 10–15 per cent of India’s internet population is already consuming micro-dramas across platforms, leaving massive headroom for expansion. EY predictions suggest the category could grow 3x in three years, but some panellists believe it could be even faster.
Kunj Sanghvi highlighted that genres in micro-dramas evolve and exhaust quickly. “Genres get exhausted really fast,” he said. “After the 50th micro-drama of the same type, the audience already knows what’s coming.” This forces constant innovation and micro-segmentation. Platforms are already serving very specific audiences, IAS aspirants, middle-aged romance seekers, or those who enjoy moral conflicts between doctors and billionaires proving the format’s ability to cater to niche emotional triggers.
Regionalisation is seen as inevitable. While Hindi currently dominates, Tamil and Telugu are growing fast, and vernacular supply is expected to catch up with demand. The cost of creation, already low, is falling further with AI tools, raising the prospect of hundreds of new titles every month in the near future.
Karan Bedi explained MX Player’s decision to keep the format entirely free, “We think there is potentially 800 million screens in India. If we’re at 10–15 per cent penetration today, we have 8x to go.” By removing the paywall, the platform aims to learn rapidly at scale and capture the massive untapped audience.
The panel agreed that micro-drama is not replacing traditional long-form storytelling but adding a new, highly addictive layer tailored to fragmented attention spans and mobile-first habits. As Shweta Bajpai put it, today’s audience is “entertainment hungry, but has less time to spare” and wants content that feels both personal and aspirational.
In a world where everyone is racing against the next swipe, micro-dramas have mastered the art of the perfect hook proving that the smallest screen can still deliver the biggest emotional punch, two minutes at a time. With India still at relatively low penetration compared to China’s 80 per cent, the format is poised for explosive growth, and the only question left is how quickly creators and platforms can keep feeding the insatiable appetite for the next cliffhanger.
