New Delhi (IANSlife) Dating app OkCupid, which asks its users some questions to match them based on common interests, has found that Indian millennials may not be that tradition-defying, after all, as they seem to value family time during Diwali and uphold the festival as a secular one.
Among the app’s over a million users in India, the Diwali-related questions were answered by around 1 lakh millennials from three metropolitan cities — Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru — the finds of which are nothing short of interesting.
“Fifty-six per cent of users say that ‘pujas’ and parties are an equally important part of Diwali celebrations, while 18 per cent said puja is significantly more important than parties,” OkCupid’s data suggest, adding that almost all of them value family time during the festival.
“Indian millennials hold strong family ties and feel very strongly about spending Diwali with them. A staggering majority, 88 per cent, pan-India hold the same strong family values.”
Almost all participants range between 25-35 years of age, predominantly, the dating platform said.
Do they find it acceptable for people to celebrate festivals associated with religions other than their own? Numbers say yes.
82 per cent of the OkCupid pool said that festivals are secular and it is perfectly alright for everyone to indulge in all festivals and festivities, even if it is not their own. aceLess than 18 per cent disagreed with the statement.”
Answering questions about a green, pollution-free Diwali, 70 per cent respondents agree with the ban on firecrackers and do not associate bursting crackers as part of celebrations and traditions.
On the financial front, the respondents — many of those falling in the working-age bracket –were asked what they do with their Diwali bonus, and 36 per cent said they do not get one.
For those who still get a Diwali bonus, they do live up to the expectation that millennials live for the moment with 30 per cent of them saying that they would rather splurge their Diwali bonus on themselves than save it, as opposed to the previous generation which would have actually saved the money for a rainy day, said OkCupid.
“(In the app), there are over 3,000 questions ranging from topics like politics to opinions on pop-culture, that inform the algorithms to help match our users. On the occasion of Diwali, we wanted to factor in how our users are celebrating the festival,” Melissa Hobley, CMO, OkCupid told IANSlife.
“The responses suggest that millennials value traditions and look forward to celebrating Diwali with their families. We have also understood that our users in India are a mix of modern and traditional as a staggering percentage of users agree with the ban on firecrackers expressing their belief that Diwali is the festival of lights which is true across the cities,” she added.