{"id":28203,"date":"2021-12-11T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-12-11T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/?p=28203"},"modified":"2022-12-20T02:23:02","modified_gmt":"2022-12-20T10:23:02","slug":"dating-during-covid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/online-dating\/dating-during-covid\/","title":{"rendered":"Dating During COVID: What\u2019s Changed And What\u2019s Stayed The Same"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Dating during COVID was, during the first half of the pandemic, an oxymoron. When the pandemic began and the world was flung unsuspectingly into quarantines and lockdowns, romance wasn\u2019t the first thing on most people\u2019s minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Before long, however, restlessness grew among the single folks of the world. When weeks indoors became months, the world\u2019s single population found themselves cruelly deprived of romance \u2013 and necessity is the mother of invention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From nowhere, new forms of dating emerged. Suddenly, the go-to dating app meet-ups became socially distanced strolls in the park, chats through cracked open windows, or glasses of wine sipped in front of webcams. Dating during COVID had arrived.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How did dating during COVID change things?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Perhaps the most powerful change that occurred during the start of the pandemic was the realization among would-be daters that even if you were to match with somebody on a dating app, there was no guarantee you would see them in person for a very long time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This uncertainty and distance by itself could, in the right circumstances, be quite romantic; if one of you had been out to sea seeking adventure and fortune, for example. If you\u2019re both slumped in your respective living rooms wearing oversized pajamas, however, things become a little less swashbuckling. To<a href=\"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/relationship-advice\/healthy-relationships\/better-sex-life\/\"> keep things sexy<\/a>, people had to get creative.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s take a look at what\u2019s changed and what\u2019s stayed the same about dating as a result of COVID.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Dating apps have shot up in popularity<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Every year, more and more people take the plunge into online dating. When everybody was trying to figure out how to continue dating during COVID, we saw huge<a href=\"https:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/tinder-hinge-match-group-dating-apps-more-users-coronavirus-2020-8?r=US&amp;IR=T\"> spikes in downloads<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It seems people weren\u2019t put off by the fact that they couldn\u2019t meet and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/online-dating-tips\/when-to-meet\/\"> date in person<\/a> and were simply happy to swipe, match and chat from their homes. Feelings of loneliness arising during the pandemic, particularly among young people, are reported to be the cause of the surge in downloads. As a result, many dating apps altered their apps to allow daters extra ways of flirting and bonding.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Video chat has been introduced on dating apps<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some dating apps have had video calling as an option long before dating during COVID started making the news. Others evolved quickly and adapted to new ways of connecting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Apps like Zoosk introduced <a href=\"https:\/\/help.zoosk.com\/hc\/en-us\/articles\/4402057167250-Zoosk-Live\">a live streaming platform<\/a>, with a survey revealing a majority (57%) of members will adopt a mixture of video and in-person dating going forward. 71% also said that they\u2019ve gone on to meet their video date in person after connecting virtually. With this, video dating found its time to shine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Virtual dates can take you around the world<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Since the first few months of the pandemic, video dating has been refined to an art. Today, not only can you use video calls on your first date, but you can also take virtual tours of cities around the world, the best museums and galleries, and much more. These interactive experiences are a great way to break the ice with someone new and keep the convo flowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Apps have introduced \u2018vaccinated\u2019 stamps<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are some issues that are important to daters, and along with a potential partner\u2019s politics, religion, and general outlook on life, it seems singles are seeking out people who match their own views on vaccinations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>On many dating apps today, alongside your height, job title, and details like whether or not you smoke, you can now add a section to detail whether you\u2019ve had your COVID vaccination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Alternative dates are in vogue<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sitting in a bar all evening is <em>so<\/em> 2019. The emergence of COVID brought with it an altogether<a href=\"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/date-ideas\/long-distance-date-ideas\/\"> new style of dating<\/a>: slightly awkward, kind-of sweet socially distanced walks. During those long months where bars and cafes were closed and the only thing to do was head outside, singles around the world grew accustomed to meeting up during daylight hours, without the social lubrication of a couple of drinks, to stroll around parks and city blocks together. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, with the worst of the pandemic (hopefully) behind us, it looks as if ruddy-cheeked, innocent ambling is here to stay as a first-date option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>After a very long wait, normality is on the horizon<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That is to say\u2026 <em>some<\/em> normality. As bars, restaurants, parks, and cafes around the world begin to open up once again, it\u2019s becoming an increasingly common sight to see first-date couples chatting animatedly over drinks once again. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>However, while the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns were certainly a spanner in the works (understatement of the year), perhaps some lasting good has been done for the world of dating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the same way that working from home has improved the work-life balance for many employees around the world, the necessary advancement of dating apps has brought about more choice than ever for single people looking for love. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/relationship-advice\/healthy-relationships\/relationships-during-coronavirus\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/relationship-advice\/healthy-relationships\/relationships-during-coronavirus\/\">learned a lot from our relationships during coronavirus<\/a>. It may have been a confusing and disorientating experience in the early months, but hopefully, in the future, singles searching for that special someone will have a smoother dating experience than ever before.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dating during COVID was, during the first half of the pandemic, an oxymoron. When the pandemic began and the world was flung unsuspectingly into quarantines and lockdowns, romance wasn\u2019t the first thing on most people\u2019s minds. Before long, however, restlessness grew among the single folks of the world. When weeks indoors became months, the world\u2019s [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":220,"featured_media":28204,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[888,980],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28203","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-online-dating","category-online-dating-tips"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Dating During COVID: What Changed And What Stayed The Same<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Dating during COVID may have changed the dating landscape forever. We take a closer look at what&#039;s different and what&#039;s stayed the same.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/online-dating\/dating-during-covid\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Dating During COVID: What Changed And What Stayed The Same\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Dating during COVID may have changed the dating landscape forever. We take a closer look at what&#039;s different and what&#039;s stayed the same.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/online-dating\/dating-during-covid\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Date Mix\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Zoosk\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-12-11T15:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-12-20T10:23:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/active-autumn-background-beautiful-boyfriend-cheerful-couple-date-embrace-enjoying-face-fall-family_t20_2WYdyO_dating-during-covid.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2100\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1402\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Dan Hackett\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Zoosk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Zoosk\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Dan Hackett\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Dating During COVID: What Changed And What Stayed The Same","description":"Dating during COVID may have changed the dating landscape forever. 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Originally from England, he's been writing about all things romance for several years now and has contributed to online dating sites such as EliteSingles and SilverSingles. Elsewhere, he recently wrote his first novel - though he's not tried to get it published yet. Instead, he's currently sitting on it like a goose on an egg, mortified at the prospect of releasing it into the world. Dan has been working with Zoosk to create unique and insightful content around all aspects of online dating, love, and relationships.","sameAs":["https:\/\/worldhangover.com\/"],"url":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/author\/dan-hackett\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28203","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/220"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28203"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28203\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28204"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28203"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28203"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zoosk.com\/date-mix\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28203"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}