Your Friends Make You a Better Dater — Here’s How

New data from Hinge shows that daters with strong friendships report real benefits in how they date: 64% say those friendships help them be more emotionally aware, 56% more confident, and 56% better communicators.* We asked Hinge's Love and Connection Expert and LMFT Moe Ari Brown (he/they) what's actually behind those perspectives — and what to do with them.

As an LMFT, I talk to people about their most intimate relationships. From friendships to family to romantic partnerships, one thing holds true across them all: love takes practice, and friendships are where we practice first. It’s where we learn to hold someone else's feelings alongside our own, have conversations when something hurts, and apologize after conflict – long before we bring those skills into a romantic relationship. If you want stronger friendships and to bring them into your dating life in a healthy way, here's where I'd start.

How Friendships Build Emotional Awareness, Confidence, and Communication Skills

To build a strong friendship, you've probably gone through something with someone and repaired it. That process of repair is what makes people emotionally aware.

People think confidence is just energy you have, but it's really about the practice of being afraid to authentically share yourself and doing it anyway. It's like a writer sharing their work: you start with a journal, then show one trusted reader, then publish something for anyone to see, building your tolerance for being seen by an audience over time. Friendship does the same thing of preparing you for a high-stakes moment, like romantic vulnerability. 

Practicing emotional regulation and empathy also builds great communication skills. Thinking about someone else’s needs while also considering your own is what builds a more integrated version of yourself, and the more you practice that, the less it feels like effort. Good communication starts to become your default instead of something you have to perform. 

If I had to give you one tool that builds all three, it would be active listening paired with empathy. Active listening means facing your body toward the person, making eye contact, and reflecting back what you heard instead of shifting the conversation to yourself. And when you genuinely listen and empathize instead of formulating your next response, you communicate more clearly because you're not reacting on impulse. Practice that with your friends, and it becomes second nature by the time you're on a date — the difference between a curious dater and a performative one.

Let Your Friends Be Your Mirror

Friendships mirror back to us what it's like to be in a relationship with us. They help us create rhythm and routine with another person, get out of our heads, and build around someone else's schedule, which are all things dating requires and that we don't usually think about. Friends can also catch what you're underplaying or a pattern you're too close to see.

The key to getting that kind of honest self-reflection from a friend comes down to how you ask for it. I think about it as two categories of questions to bring to friends: tactical and growth-oriented. Tactical is asking your friend to validate a hypothesis you've already formed: "Am I wrong for being upset he didn't offer to pick me up?" It's not really a question; it's a request for agreement, and it stays between you and your friend.

A growth-oriented version drops the wrong-or-right framing entirely and asks something like, "Help me see this from a few different angles," or "Help me practice what I want to say so I can show up curious instead of defensive." The test I'd offer is simple: does the question move you toward connection, or does it just confirm a position you already hold?

Friends can also be great sounding boards for your profile, often because they see the sides of you you don’t always play up yourself. For example, how you show up for the people you love or a playful side you don’t always put front and center. That’s where Hinge's Friend's Take feature comes in – bringing a friend’s perspective into your profile without letting it replace your own voice. It's part of why 69% of daters** who've added a Friend's Take say it improved how well their profile shows who they really are.

Try Friend's Take.

Love Takes Practice

Whether you're dating or just showing up for the people in your life: pay attention, reflect back what you see, and let it change how you show up next time. The friendships you already have are training you to be more aware, more confident, and a better communicator — dating is where you get to apply it.

Methodology: 

Research was conducted by an internal team of PhD researchers and behavioral scientists dedicated to generating evidence-based insights on modern dating.

 *In January 2026, the team surveyed more than 31,000 global respondents, including LGBTQIA+ and heterosexual daters. 

**Additional data on Friend's Take usage and impact was drawn from a survey conducted by the team in July 2026 of 4,600 daters who've added a Friend's Take.