The world completely stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic, but funny enough, the dating world did not.Quarantine has been a lonely and isolated time of our lives, especially romantically. All the more reason to hit up every guy in your Snap, right? I don’t blame you. We all search for intimate connections, and we don’t like being alone! Even if it’s just some fun flirting we crave, we’re human- it’s what we do.
Girls on TikTok have even joked about pouncing on the mailman out of desperation. Especially if you’re still distancing at home, it’s easy to flirt your way into something you don’t actually want to pursue once everything opens up again. “Hey, want to grab dinner next week? Everything is opening back up!” Boom… ghosted. Sorry, we were just bored and wanted to have fun… sound familiar?
Lonely as it may be, this socially distanced time has put some power in our hands. There’s nothing wrong with knowing what you do and don’t want, and there’s certainly nothing wrong with taking this window of opportunity to go for it. Flirty conversations and DM-slides can turn into real, intimate conversations. Asking someone out has shifted to chatting over Zoom and FaceTime. While quarantine might feel like it’s pulled us farther apart, people are willing to open up in ways they normally wouldn’t. You might be surprised by the feelings you can develop when a fling starts with phone calls and non-physical chemistry.
Even though most people have just been bored and horny through the pandemic, some have left quarantine with a real relationship. With no outside distractions, serious couples and newly budding flings have been able to thrive. Life might feel restrained this year, but we have more freedom than ever to reevaluate our love lives and choose exactly who we want to spend time with- whether that’s virtually or in person. There’s something to be said for the excitement and potential of getting to know more people than we’d ever be able to in person. It’s the perfect time for us to lift the pressure off ourselves and just have fun.
When you go from an eight month honeymoon phase to being thrown back into the dating world, sometimes you realize it just wasn’t meant to be. Or maybe the guy you’ve been snapping for fun isn’t someone you would want to seriously date. In these unpredictable times, you can’t expect yourself to predict and control things. Go with the flow and you never know the lessons you’ll learn or the relationships you’ll form- most importantly, with yourself.