Parents Play Matchmakers, Children Find Their Loved Ones

58 outstanding ABC young professionals successfully paired up on the American Select Colleges ABC Alumni Dating Platform 💘

Across the screen, a matchmaker’s thread leads to the perfect moment! 🌹❤️🎊

“Do parental WeChat dating groups really work?”

— “They work! They are reliable and effective!”

1. The “Poll” Conducted by the [American Select Colleges ABC Alumni Dating Platform]

The American Select Colleges ABC Alumni Dating Platform is a purely non-profit American-born Chinese youth dating and exchange community created with the help of WeChat. Through sincere communication among parents in the group, it bridges the gap for children to find their ideal partners.

Recently, the platform launched an [anonymous parental questionnaire survey] in various ABC parent groups on this platform. It was warmly received by group members, and in just a few days, 710 members from across the U.S. filled out the survey, providing valuable data points. Special thanks to the parents who participated in the survey and the dedicated volunteers who put a lot of effort into this poll! 🌹

The platform’s Bay Area group had the most participants in this survey, with 180 parents. Next was the New York group with 161 parents. These two areas also have the highest concentrations of Chinese-American children on the platform. The 3rd to 7th ranked regions were Los Angeles, Chicago, DC, Boston, and Seattle, respectively.

In terms of gender composition, girls accounted for 54.5% and boys 45.5%. Although there were slightly more girls’ parents on the platform, the ratio was relatively balanced, laying a good foundation for communication within the platform. The slightly higher number of girls is mainly due to more females joining in the younger age group (20-24).

From the age distribution perspective, the largest group is in the 25-29 age range (45.2%), almost dominating the landscape. These are mostly children who have graduated from college and worked for a few years. Next is the 20-24 age range (29.2%), followed by the 30-34 age range (20.3%).

Additionally, there were many surprising or unexpected findings in the feedback data.

2. Things We Didn’t Quite Expect

Among the 710 questionnaires submitted, according to incomplete statistics, more than 80 parents indicated that their children are currently dating, and 5 couples are already engaged!

As far as we know, this number is very conservative. It does not include parents who have already left the platform because their children got married, engaged or successfully found partners. It also excludes platform parents whose children have already found partners but did not participate in this survey.

ABC parents tend to be more reserved. Some parents are unsure when their children start dating and do not consider it a successful relationship yet.

In addition, the questionnaire survey from the platform’s dating group for international students is still being tabulated, and the number of successful matches is constantly being updated. The statistics will be released next week!

How They Met

Out of 148 responses to the question “How did you meet your partner?”, 45 (30.4%) said they met through online activities on this platform, 13 (8.8%) met through offline meet-up events organized by this platform, 34 (23%) met through friends or friends of friends, 17 (11.5%) met through school or alumni connections, and 13 (8.8%) met through other dating platforms (apps). Among these, nearly 40% met directly through the platform channels!

Overall, this result far exceeds the expectations of many parents!

One parent, upon hearing the preliminary summary of the data, said, “I always thought that parent dating groups were just a place for parents to entertain themselves. I never thought they could actually help our children! It’s so inspirational and encouraging!”

Taking into account various data analyses (including the number of parents who have left the group after their children successfully found partners), the total number of young men and women who have successfully found partners through this platform has exceeded 50!

According to the survey feedback, ABC kids also frequently meet potential partners through friends, while the traditional American ways of meeting at bars or workplaces do not seem to be very common among this demographic. It seems ABC kids prefer socializing within friend circles but don’t often go to bars. 😀

Is Saying “Authorized” Too Weighty?

“Authorization” is a term that causes a lot of dilemmas and carries a weighty feeling within the group.

Some parents often worry about what to do if their child doesn’t give permission, and they are also concerned about offending others if the other child hasn’t given their parents permission. But there’s no need to worry!

According to the feedback from the questionnaire, nearly seventy percent (68.6%) of parents have already received explicit authorization from their children, allowing parents the opportunity to help their children make connections! Our volunteer team has always believed that parents don’t need to wait until their children fully authorize them before taking action. Communication with children is a process that takes time. It can go hand in hand with parents participating in group discussions, and children’s views on parental matchmaking assistance will also be dynamic.

At the same time, having good communication with children about marriage and relationships is not an easy task. After all, the environment in which children grow up is quite different from the one we grew up in. Having patience, perseverance, and the ability to communicate with children with an open and equal mindset, listening to their voices, and shining and generating power with love will definitely make parent-child communication smoother.

Most importantly, parents should not burden themselves with the mentality of “interfering in their children’s relationships” or “arranging their children’s futures.” This is because all parents are doing is introducing potential matches and passing on information. Everything else is up to the children to decide. The communication channels on our platform are just a supplement to the various social outlets children already have, aimed at expanding their social circles and increasing their chances of success, not excluding or replacing their existing social channels.

It can truly be said that parents only facilitate introductions, while children are responsible for forming connections!

Knocking and Being Knocked

In our platform, privately requesting to add the other parent on WeChat for a private chat is called “knocking on the door,” while the other parent is referred to as “being knocked on the door.” Knocking on the door and being knocked on the door are the crucial first steps in connecting two parents for a deeper conversation. Parents can only further understand the situation of both children and decide whether to proceed with matchmaking by chatting privately.

In this survey, nearly half (49.3%) of parents said they had never privately chatted with other parents! 43.6% of parents have only knocked on the door 1-5 times, while about 5% of parents have knocked on the door 6-10 times.

From the perspective of being “knocked on the door,” 58.6% of families have been knocked on the door 1-5 times, 28.8% of families have never been knocked on the door, and 9.9% of families have been knocked on the door 6-10 times!

Overall, more than seventy percent of families have been approached (“knocked on the door”) by others, while only half of them have taken the initiative to contact other parents. This indicates that a considerable number of parents are still far from being proactive and have not fully utilized the resources and opportunities provided by the platform! There is still a lot of untapped potential here.

As we all know, from a statistical perspective, the more knocks, the greater the chance of encountering compatible families. The more effort parents put in, the greater the chance of successfully connecting their children.

3. Supporting Each Other, Walking Together towards a Bright Future

The philosophy of the American Select Colleges ABC Alumni Dating Platform is to create a community of public welfare, openness, warmth, mutual assistance, and shared friendship, where everyone supports each other. To this end, the platform has assembled and trained a group of kind-hearted and selfless volunteers to work diligently with parents to promote group interaction.

At the same time, the platform has always advocated for a multi-pronged approach, integrating online and offline activities to create more opportunities for children to meet.

Recently, the platform has expanded its resources by collaborating with friendly groups and platforms. It has also engaged in interactive promotions with Chinese communities and associations across the country, co-hosting public lectures and community events to attract more Chinese families with matchmaking needs to join our big family and give back to the community together.

To deepen and broaden group communication, we need strong support from parents, especially for offline activities in various regions where local parents can help with venues and other logistics. At the same time, we also need a large number of volunteers to join our team to serve parents in need. Many hands make light work!

For parents who are willing to volunteer on the platform, please contact the platform’s management team. We look forward to your joining!

Parents interested in joining [the American Select Colleges ABC Alumni Dating Platform] to help their adult children find connections, please scan the QR code below.