5 Ways The Pandemic Has Changed Online Dating
Since the beginning of the pandemic and global lockdown, online dating has grown to be a major player in the modern dating scene. With social distancing and lockdowns getting a physical date has been more difficult than ever. More people are turning to the world of virtual dating now, more than ever. The pandemic has had a big effect on online dating…. here’s some ways it has changed for the better.
- More people are downloading and using dating apps
Since the pandemic online dating apps have seen a dramatic increase in activity. On March 2020, just after most countries went into lockdown, Tinder dating app broke a record with more than 3 billion swipes in one day. Between March and May of 2020, the dating app called OkCupid had an increase of 700% in dates, while Bumble had 70% more video calls. Bumble also broke a record with 100 million users.
2. Virtual dating is now common
Prior to the pandemic FaceTime and Skype were often used to video chat a friend far away or for video meetings. Because of the pandemic, virtual dates are now a common characteristic of dating. Due to social distancing and closures, more singles are opting to video chat as a first time “meet” before meeting up in person. This way both people can get a feel for one another and decide if an actual date would be good for them, before risking their health and safety. According to Tinder, half of their members did a video chat first before meeting face to face.
3. More dating app users are looking for deeper connections
Originally dating apps were seen as a way to casually date and hook up, but now, users are seeking more meaningful conversations and relationships. A survey done on 5,000 Americans showed that 58% of people that use dating apps have started to date with more intention and purpose. Furthermore, the dating website OkCupid saw a 20% decrease in members seeking a hook up.
4. The advantages of search filters
One frustration about dating IRL is having to pick through and interact with many different people until finding someone that checks your boxes. With online dating, however, a lot of time is saved with the help of search filters. When looking to meet someone online, dating apps have search filters that will prevent individuals from popping up on your feed if they don’t fit the search criteria. This way users know exactly what they are getting into before even starting a conversation. This aspect of online dating will be appealing to daters even after the pandemic.
5. More platonic relationships
Due to the isolation and severe loneliness that comes with COVID-19 and social distancing, more people are turning to social media and even dating apps to find friendships. Bumble says they saw an increase of users looking for friendships, specifically male users. While there are apps designed just for finding platonic relationships, dating apps have seen more people forming friendships; so much so that they created a new feature called BFF so users could search for both platonic and romantic relationships. A website for finding online communities and groups said the most searched word in 2020, was “friends”.
References:
Dietzel, Christopher. Duguay, Stefanie. Myles, David. 2021. Relationships During A Pandemic. https://theconversation.com/relationships-during-a-pandemic-how-dating-apps-have-adapted-to-covid-19-160219
Wiederhold, Brenda. 2020. Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. Vol. 24, №7
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