2020 has been a wild ride so far with everyone social distancing by March, and many of us in quarantine by April. The idea of dating now seems pretty impossible. But are there ways to find love during social distancing?
You might think right now, finding love and going on dates is the least of your worries. However, being stuck at home for weeks on end, things can get a bit lonely. You start to wonder, wouldn’t this be a bit nicer if I was at least quarantined with someone I liked?
Of course, meeting someone the more traditional way is out the window right now. No shooting your shot at the bar, no bumping into someone at the park. You can’t even use the good old “walking my dog to attract girls who are jogging” method.
That doesn’t mean you can’t meet someone though. In fact, you can! And you can also go on dates! It’s just going to be a little less face to face, and a little more facetime to facetime.
Social distancing on Tinder
Yes, Tinder is still a valid way to meet someone during social distancing. That is, the app itself is safe to use because you’re not meeting them in person when you swipe right. Tinder might have a history of being used a more casual hook-up app, yet it’s not it’s only function. You can still match with people on Tinder, exactly like you would if you weren’t on lockdown, so there’s no extra steps to take there.
Once you’ve matched with someone, it’s still business as usual. You make a cheesy pick-up line that’s a pun on their name, they either tell you you’re hilarious or they’ve heard it a million times. Either way, you screenshot it and post it to Reddit for karma. Joking aside, you do still start conversations the same way you would before.
Now where do you go once things have progressed well? Obviously you can’t meet them for coffee. So what can you do? Invite them for coffee… over video chat. This might sound a bit crazy to people at first, but that’s because we’ve moved into a world where phone calls aren’t as normal as they were before. Not to mention video chatting is normally a special privilege reserved for family members or friends. But crazy times call for crazy measures.
If video calling is still a bit too advanced, you can also start with exchanging numbers and texting. Or having a normal phone call without the video aspect.
Skype
In the same vein as video calling on your phone, you can video call someone on skype. Skype is a great option, and people in long distance relationships have been using it for years. One of the good reasons for using skype, despite it’s often glitchy nature, is that it’s well known and people are comfortable with it.
It’s much easier to get someone to talk to you using a platform they’re familiar with. It takes away another step of inconvenience, and when it dating, making things as convenient as possible can be the key to succeeding. People are lazy after all.
Videogames
The online video game community has a mixed reputation online. Whilst forums and twitter discussions can turn very hostile, there is also a lot of space for friendly communities. With the rise in popularity of Discord, many people now hang out and talk to their friends whilst playing videogames. Joining new Discord servers through friends or your video game community can be a great way of meeting and connecting with new people that have similar interests to yourself.
It also has the added bonus of a very easy dating solution, playing online games together. This can be anything from intense FPS like Apex, to casual games like Animal Crossing.
With video games there’s also the Twitch online streaming community. Of course, following girls who stream with the hopes of dating isn’t a good path to go down, but watching streams or streaming yourself can definitely open up your chances of meeting new people during a time where we are all social distancing. It’s now easier than ever to be in a community online.
Sliding into DMs
It sounds cheesy, but people do it for a reason. Sliding into someone’s DMs on Twitter or Instagram has been a popular way of getting someone’s attention since long before social distancing protocols were enacted.
The success rate? That depends. Some people see it has a numbers game, see a person you like, slide into their DMs, wait to see if they respond. For others, they build up a relationship by commenting and replying on public posts. Then, once a semi-relationship has been established, they move things into DMs to get to know the person on a personal level.
Of course there are also the one in a million chance that you might cheekily reply to someone on a public post and it ends up being a catch. These relationships are the ones you see that go viral, and it’s not dependent on being conventionally attractive as many people believe. It really could just be right place, right time.
Social Distancing dating using established platforms
Even though social distancing has made conventional dating methods moot, it doesn’t require you to learn anything new or use programs you’re unfamiliar with. We’re lucky to be in a time when having an online presence is normal, and nearly everyone has experience with at least one social platform.
Is making connections as easy and natural as traditional methods? Some would say no. The fact is, it’s just different. Many people have relationships that start online, even before all the social distancing. Now is simply a better time to use these avenues for dating. Being in quarantine doesn’t mean you have to be lonely.
Even if dating is harder, these are definitely good ways to increase your social interactions, make new friends, and stay sane under quarantine. Good luck everyone, stay safe, and wash your hands.