Single in your twenties during a pandemic? Me too
It is the age-old question whether us women should be single in our twenties.
The most prominent features of a quick google search ask, ‘Is it good to be single in your twenties?’ or ‘Is it bad to be single in your twenties?’. This debate has been discussed for generations, while many of our parents were married and pregnant by at least 24, in recent years millennial parents are opting to focus on career and relationships until at least 30 to begin thinking about wedding and babies.
But a new issue has arisen to the twenty-year-olds of today… a pandemic.
I see myself as quite the expert when it comes to being ‘single, in your twenties, and a pandemic’ since my 20th birthday occurred on the 16th of March 2020 when the prime minister announced ‘avoid pubs, clubs, theatres and other such social venues’ just as I was about to leave to begin celebrations. In just 7 weeks I will be 22 and since I’ve been single all 22 of those years, I feel qualified to comment on this new realm of singleness during supposedly the ‘Best Years of my Life’, whilst also navigating a pandemic.
Pre- COVID19 the discussing about being single in your twenties was always advocated to me as a young woman, by most people around me. My mother always told me I didn’t want a boyfriend as they were more hassle than they were worth, and I should just have fun with my friends as I am still so young and have my whole life to be in a relationship. As an almost-22-year-old I mostly agree with her, having never had a boyfriend, I don’t feel as though I’m missing out and most of the time from observing my friends’ relationships, the stress of the relationship doesn’t seem worth it. But is that because you can’t miss something you’ve never had? How would I know if the benefits outweighed the stresses if I’ve never been in that situation? I wouldn’t. and the only way to find out now would possibly to try dating.
Being 1/5 of the way through my twenties seems like the perfect time to begin thinking about casually dating/ get a taste for the relationship life.
Now one has mentally prepared herself to begin thinking about dating, where does she start? With the ever-growing obsession to meet someone ‘organically’ after the boom of online dating apps since around 2012, where would one meet a potential suitor? Clubbing? At uni? All perfectly reasonable and logical places, however one small issue that has seemly got in the way of these natural meeting places is a world-wide pandemic that no one needs reminding of. But this has greatly impacted the way we meet, interact and form relationships with people. I find myself now, some 6 months since night clubs reopening still cringing at people snogging on the dance floor and still find it strange dancing so close to random strangers. I’ve always considered myself a relatively confident and outgoing person, but I have found myself majorly set back by the lack of human contact over the last 20 months, even finding myself awkward and embarrassed in situations I never would have before.
So, what is really the only logical answer? You guessed it, back to dating apps it is!
Dating app users rose to around 10 million in the UK during the high of the pandemic which makes me feel slightly better about myself knowing that many others feel this was. While I am still curious about the dating scene, I think I will stick with my mum’s advice for a while longer and continue enjoying single life while I’m young and push that curiosity aside for a bit longer.
