Dating is difficult and complicated enough, even in the best of times. Throw a global pandemic in there, and it’s completely discouraging. Yet, amidst the isolation and quarantine boredom, it’s no wonder the dating apps have been flooded with activity. There were coronavirus-themed pick-up lines (‘If COVID doesn’t take you out, can I?’) and attempts at “virtual dating.” Awkwardly FaceTiming a stranger while sitting in your sweatpants, surrounded by snacks, is as close to human interaction as you can get with your matches in the quarantine.
Shortly after the lockdowns were implemented across the country last year, Bumble Canada reported a 56 per cent increase in video calls during the week ending March 27, compared to the week before that. At the same time, Tinder saw a surge in the number of conversations by 10-30 per cent, according to Match Group.
Last May, Tinder introduced a video date feature of its own. When the company surveyed 5,000 of its members, it was revealed that half of respondents went on “video dates” in July, according to a report by Business Insider.
For those using Bumble, the app developers introduced a “Virtual Dating Badge” last spring, a feature that allows singles to indicate what kind of dates they prefer; virtual, socially distanced or socially distanced with a mask. It also now lets you send video and audio messages. Last July, the app reached 100 million users, twice as many as it had in 2019.
And it appears certain virtual dating features may not be going away even after the pandemic is over — particularly among younger generations. In the same survey by Tinder, 40 per cent of the Gen Z users said they wanted to continue using the video feature as a way to determine if they’d like to meet matches in person
This article appears in the Winter 2021 issue of Edify
