The supposed “male loneliness epidemic” may be made-up nonsense to coddle losers with skill issues, but even lonely males don’t necessarily signal that dating apps are having a good time. Turns out, intentionally making it harder to use the ad-supported versions of their apps and charging ridiculous prices for even the most basic paid tier makes singles less likely to use the apps, no matter how niche-focused they are. So what’s the plan to add new users? Well, according to Wired, one dating app called BLK started giving away free gas.
We aren’t talking about a couple of gallons, either. BLK announced yesterday that it’s giving away $500 gift cards to 10 people who have to be willing to jump through enough hoops on social media to qualify.
The people who make the decisions that impact gas prices are doing their best to pretend that the U.S. is close to an actual peace deal with Iran, so prices have dropped a bit recently, but true relief is still far off. The current national average is $4.43 a gallon, which is way higher than it was back in February, before Trump launched his war to make gas expensive again.
We are, of course, talking about a corporate promotion meant to market a dating app, so it’s not like the free gas gift card giveaway is some morally pure effort to help people in need. BLK wants more users, so it’s using the tools it has available to make that happen. Still, it’s fascinating to see how corporations respond to rising gas prices and plunging consumer sentiment, combined with all the feelings of loneliness and isolation created by a society that feels built to make real human connections so hard to find and maintain.
These ‘dystopian’ times
This also seems to me to be a sign that high gas prices really have broken through as a major concern for the general public. If companies like dating apps are shifting their marketing strategies to focus on gas prices, their data has to show that their users don’t see expensive gas as a temporary problem. Otherwise, why gas cards instead of free dates, or something else entirely? It’s going to take a bit of time to run the promotion, pick the winners, and send out the gift cards, so there’s probably a belief that gas prices won’t come down anytime soon baked right into the promotion.
Still, BLK is just one company, and one of the less-well-known dating apps. What’s truly concerning is also mentioned in the Wired story — the other companies that have also turned to giving away basic necessities as a part of their corporate strategies. The new Boots Riley movie, I Love Boosters, recently ran a gas giveaway, too, and Polymarket has grabbed headlines with a pop-up “grocery store” that offered free basics such as food, laundry supplies, and toilet paper. And when corporations start giving away things you definitely need instead of things you probably don’t, that’s something those of us in the biz call “a bad sign.”
“It’s certainly a tale of the times which one can argue are dystopian,” Darren Martin Jr., a marketing consultant who also told Wired that in 2026, corporate 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.”
