The Uncertain Opportunities of Lovers
How have the romantics fared during the pandemic?
Conversation strikes, and you find yourself on a date with someone you have been talking to the past week. The date is at the park, or restaurant for dinner, or maybe a quick meet up for coffee. Things are starting great, interests are there and then BAM, quarantine happens because of a virus that has been spreading around the world and now everyone must stop seeing people for their safety and the uncertainties presented by others. Things fall apart and you are back at square one, indefinitely?
COVID-19 has caused the population to be weary of others and even avoid strangers altogether, whether it be because of family influence to keep the household safe or keeping themselves safe. Of course, dating falls victim due to the unfortunate consequences this pandemic has caused. Although many relationships being impacted by the pandemic negatively, many are still finding ways to stay in touch with each other with the hopes of beating out the pandemic together.
Everyone may know someone out there trying their luck in the dating scene. Whether it works out or not, it involves being intimate and present. Because there is a pandemic running rampant, dating has become much harder despite the plethora of mobile apps available to skip the pleasantries and randomness of meeting someone out in public. With many braving this new world, patience between whatever party must be present, and understood. The responsibilities lie between us all to keep this invisible sickness from spreading, so that entails patience and understanding that being present with one another may not happen for however long this pandemic lasts. The issue is that the efforts of one may just not be enough or in the interest of the other.
Brian Guzman, a 25-year-old living in Los Angeles, was enjoying his time rekindling with an old friend that had mutual excitement to push their relationship further into something exclusive between them. However, the lack of physical presence put a strain on their relationship and brought it to a halt when quarantining became a mandate countrywide.
Before quarantining was even a thought, Brian would go out on rides with his significant other. He reminisced about the “freedom that we all had before it was ripped away from us. I mean, we would just enjoy talking with one another in my car with a nice view on top of this park we would go to.”
“There’s only so much you can do through a phone,” Brian said. “After a while, playing the same mobile game, and seemingly having the same day repeat over and over can exhaust someone. Losing interest just naturally comes after that, I guess.”
As a result, keeping up with someone having the same day as you may not be the most “interesting thing to talk about,” Brian said, while explaining how he and his significant used to text each other daily, until finally they both stopped receiving texts from each other due to the lack of physical presence Brian states both yearned for.
Although, for some, the pandemic was not the gust of wind to flush out the initial sparks of interest between two; sometimes taking a leap forward toward someone can have amazing results. Annabel Park, 23, after getting into a new job two months before the quarantine was implemented in Los Angeles, she started talking to her current boyfriend. On March 21, two days after the California stay-at-home order was put in place, she asked her boyfriend to come live with her and continue their relationship without any “brakes,” so they could face the pandemic together.
“I was thinking that he’d be coming over every day regardless of the pandemic,” Annabel recalled while discussing how she and her boyfriend would make their relationship “relevant” during the pandemic. “I don’t care about taking it slow so just come over and we wouldn’t have to do social distancing,” said Annabel.
As intimidating as it sounds with moving in with your significant other with just three months in the relationship, Annabel felt confident about what to do if it did not work out. “I could just break up with him if he messed up, you know, and have him go back to his aunt, but if we’re cool enough to stay as friends, I’d let him stay until he could move out,” said Annabel.
Even though extraordinary circumstances allowed for a quick move in for them both, Annabel said the pandemic did not exactly enhance the relationship.
“I feel like the relationship grew at the pace that it was going to grow anyways. It gave us a chance to allow ourselves to be connected. Living together isn’t what makes us close. We are already vibing and we got good personality so living together was just a big bonus for the both of us. It was a perfect opportunity,” Annabel said.
With the pandemic nearing its end as the vaccines become more widely distributed and administered, they are both ready to flourish without the restraint of the pandemic, so they can focus on “getting a bigger house.”
But the COVID dating scene is not necessarily black and white, or a win or bust. According to Fortune, there has been a surge of new users across dating platforms at the start of the pandemic. Tinder found its “highest number of swipes on a single day: 3 billion,” and other platforms found increases in users like OkCupid with an increase of 700%. Users have been able to use dating platforms to “alleviate feelings of loneliness, especially during the pandemic,” says Jeff Link from Built In. And although meeting up and being physically present may not be an option to many, couples have opted in favor for video calls and virtual dinner dates. And for those who have decided to meet in person, according to Built In, some have gone for a more social distanced picnic out in the public and even go as far to say that this may even bring an improvement of quality in the dating scene.
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