With Corona bringing the whole world to a standstill, the dating world doesn’t remain untouched by these apocalyptic times: a 6 feet distance between two people definitely doesn’t make for a very memorable first date. Being unable to get out of one’s house has left people with no options but to join dating apps to meet new people and potential love interests. The number of dating app users has increased massively, thus increasing not only the choices but the conversation quality. While sadly, some people are still meeting up with strangers in spite of heavy restrictions placed by the government concerning going out and quarantining, there is also a positive side to all this, at least for those who are single. According to Time, Bumble has seen a record high in quality of conversations based on the length of ‘talks’ and the duration two people have spent talking for. This would help in reducing the odds of an awkward in-person date once things get back to normal because it has become so much easier to gauge a person’s interests and their compatibility with us. Just like everything else, different people are taking this time to connect with others in different ways, the following is a list of the types of single people that you might find during quarantine:
-
The Serial FaceTimers
Just like their non-quarantine counterparts, these people live off of meeting new people and going out, being trapped in their houses is the last thing they could ever want. However, they are still making the most of these times by FaceTiming/Zoom-ing/Skype-ing as many people as they can and hopefully, enjoying their interactions.
-
The Holed-up with their not-so-significant other
These people were lucky enough to have found someone right before or in the earlier days of quarantine who then decided to stay together for a while. It’s almost like a mini-move in and only time can tell if this could turn into something potentially permanent in the long term.
-
The Quarantine jailbreakers
These people are undoubtedly the worst, they have an irrational idea of meeting up with others and hanging out ignoring all the rules that the government has imposed. My only advice to these people: stay the fudge home!
-
The Virtual Exclusives
The virtual exclusives are those people who just got lucky, maybe they met each other while lazily swiping on a dating app, maybe they are an old connection who wants to reconnect, or maybe they ended up exchanging numbers arguing over who gets the last pack of toilet paper during one of the panic-runs to Target, the possibilities are wild, but not more wild then the fact that they found someone to share their time and thoughts in these lonely times. The long hours spent on the calls and the cute virtual exchanges of affection makes this the best scenario among all. Who knows, maybe two, five or ten years in the future, they might still be together recalling how one pandemic changed their lives.
-
The Boycotters
These are the people who are using their time to work on themselves, their passion, and their hobbies rather than dating or trying to find someone else. Independent and driven, these people are the most likely to end up with a glow up once all this gets over.
-
The Social-Distance Buddies
Much like friends with benefits, these people are not interested in each other romantically. Maybe they hung out once or twice before quarantine and are kind of stuck with each other now, or maybe they just enjoy spending time together, holding virtual watch parties, talking on the phone, etc the options are endless.
No matter what dating style, we are all experiencing something new and embracing it is the only way to go. Afterall, when it all gets back to normal, this world may or may not be a different place, restoring our old ways could then be a choice for those who want to. Being a hopeless romantic, I can only hope for the best for everyone. Till then stay safe, stay happy!