Time with you

Inclusive dating app for people with disabilities

Christian Knapp is a member of the self-advocacy group from the Lebensgroß association and worked on the platform together with the team.

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian)

A barrier-free place for people with disabilities to get to know each other and the chance to find their match in love. This is the idea behind the "Zeit mit Dir" platform developed by the Lebensgroß association. "We don't want to be alone either," emphasizes Christian Knapp.

Loneliness can affect anyone in the course of life and have a major impact on mental health. After all, everything is better when you can share it with other people, be they friends or partners. In the past, people usually got to know each other among friends, in clubs or at dances, but in recent years in particular, getting to know each other has largely shifted to the digital world. Around 21% of Austrians who are in a committed relationship have met online.

However, dating platforms are often places of selection and exclusion, and they are rarely barrier-free and do not necessarily make it easier for people with disabilities to meet new people. However, the need for physical and emotional closeness exists for people with disabilities, just as it does for people without disabilities. The inclusive and free dating app "Zeit mit Dir" aims to give everyone the opportunity to make new contacts, whether it's just to chat or to meet up.

We stand for social innovation. The people who are affected have been involved in the development of the platform from the very beginning.

Lebensgroß-Geschäftsführerin Susanne Maurer-Aldrian

37-year-old Christian Knapp is a member of the self-advocacy group of the Lebensgroß association. He is the contact person for all people with disabilities within the association and also the mouthpiece to the outside world. He got the ball rolling at a meeting when, when asked which issue should be given the highest priority, he said: "Loneliness is the biggest problem. Do something about it!" Knapp himself already has a girlfriend and is registered on the platform to find friends. He was involved in every step of the app's development and is part of the test user team along with nine other people with disabilities.

"Existing platforms are either expensive or simply boring," says Christian Knapp.

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian)

The day on which the app is officially launched, April 28, was also carefully chosen because it is "Kiss Your Partner Day". Managing Director Susanne Maurer-Aldrian emphasizes: "We find the day very fitting, as every interpersonal relationship can be just as individual as a kiss and every person has a right to relationships of any kind".

"Everything should be easy and understandable!"
A completed online contact form on the www.zeitmitdir.at website is the entry ticket to the dating platform. This is followed by a 30-minute initial meeting in which questions can be clarified and the expectations of future users can be ascertained. This also ensures a maximum level of security, as anyone can register on the inclusive platform, not just people with disabilities.

With a focus on accessibility in terms of design and reduced to the necessary information to make it easier for everyone to use, the platform is intended to become a place where not only romantic relationships but also friendships can develop. Explanatory videos on the homepage and the option of having the texts on the platform read aloud should make things even easier. Even the data protection regulations have been made easier to understand and a black and white mode can also be selected.

Susanne Maurer-Aldrian, Managing Director of the Lebensgroß association and Valentin Windhaber, "Zeit Mit Dir" project manager.

(Bild: Jauschowetz Christian)

Soccer, dog or games console
As with conventional platforms, the profile consists of important information about the user. To find similarities and see at first glance what the other person is interested in, three symbols are selected that reflect the user's own interests. Everything is included, from soccer and games consoles to dogs. The profile photo is a mandatory field. "We believe that if I want to get to know someone, I also want to know what they look like," says project manager Valentin Windhaber. You can also enter your favorite season and favorite food. "The more information you reveal about yourself, the easier it is to find intersections with other platform users," Windhaber is certain.

The platform will not be limited to Graz and Styria, which is why it will also be possible to have the initial meeting online via video chat in the future, which currently takes place at the association's advice center in Keplerstraße. Even before the official launch on Sunday, 48 people had already registered on the platform. Maurer-Aldrian is particularly pleased about this: "Word has probably already got around".