BRAUN: Lumen sheds light on late-life love

Lumen, a popular dating app for the 50-plus crowd, is now available in Canada. (supplied photo)

Old people: Rich, randy and ready for romance.

People in your grandparents’ age group have very active sex lives — try not to get a mental picture — and those among them who are single (or newly so through death or divorce) are keen to get out there.

No surprise then, that Lumen —  a dating app for the 50-plus crowd — is a runaway success. Launched in the UK last fall, Lumen is part of the dating scene in Australia, Germany, France, the U.S. and now Canada.

Lumen has 1.2 million users worldwide, about half male and half female. As there are about 80 million singles in this age group globally, not counting those who would rather lie under a moving hayrake and poke out an eye with a sharp stick than ever date again, Lumen’s numbers can only increase.

Anyone over 55 gets short shrift in the world o’ 21st century dating; they’re also more likely to get catfished or scammed.

Lumen decided to address all the ageism and security issues by developing an app that’s free, safe, user-friendly and open only to those 50 and older.

The app uses AI to ensure you are who you claim to be (promising 100% photo verification); your opening salvo has to be longer than 50 characters, so “Oy — fancy a shag?’ will not cut it.

Lumen is the brainchild of co-founders Antoine Argouges (ex-Bumble) and Charly Lester. Lester is an entrepreneur and dating industry expert, working both the philosophical and the business sides of the game. She founded the UK Dating Awards, the European Dating Awards and the U.S. Dating Awards.

We spoke to Lester about Lumen a few days ago.

Lumen co-founder Charly Lester. (supplied photo)

Why were you convinced Lumen would work?

“I’ve worked in the dating industry for over 6 years. As a dating expert, the most common question I was asked was by people in their 20s or 30s, trying to find an appropriate app or website for their divorced or widowed parents. And I never had an answer. The problem was that people in their 50s and 60s didn’t have products designed for them. The existing ‘over 50s’ offerings treated people like they didn’t use smartphones or understand technology. Their imagery showed retired couples on beaches, in their 70s or 80s. Meanwhile those over 50s trying to use dating apps felt ignored and overlooked, because the apps are designed for millennials. One of the main dating apps only started allowing over 50s to join a few years ago! Creating an app for the vibrant, tech-savvy over 50s I know, who use apps for other aspects of their lives, just made sense.”

Has your involvement with Lumen altered any ideas you had about getting older?

“I think we all have warped ideas of what a 50-year-old looks like. Working for Lumen has made me realize how ‘old’ people think 50 is, and how untrue that perception is. We use photos of people in their 50s in our marketing and people think they are 30 or 40. When someone pictures a 50-year-old in their head, most of the time the image they are thinking of is a 70-year-old. We need to shake up these perceptions because they are wrong, and damaging — and a great deal of the preconceptions come from media and the arts. We need to see more 50 and 60 year olds in advertising, films, and on TV.”

Is there a ‘typical’ Lumen client?

“Our average Lumen member is 57. I would say most Lumen members are between 50 and 65, however we have members right up until their late 90s — everyone has a smartphone these days. Everyone using Lumen is single, however you can use the app to make friends as well as go on dates. We have dedicated group chat areas where you can chat to like-minded over 50s about travel, film, sport, food and drink, and gardening. We want Lumen to be a safe, sociable place where no one feels lonely.”

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