COVID-19 is the biggest cockblock known to humanity.
Sure we’ve had things prevent our feverish attempts to fornicate before — the black plague and Catholocism to name a couple — but in recent memory, nothing compares to the pandemic.
Some however think that the pandemic will give rise to a new flood of newborns similar to the way the end of WWII did.
Though according to a recent Match.com poll, the pandemic baby boom is nothing more than wishful thinking. Match polled 5,000 single Americans last year and found that 71% of those polled had abstained from sex during the pandemic.
As is expected, the rate at which single Americans have sex and date has slowed down quite a bit.
However, just because Americans have slowed their roll doesn’t mean they’ve stopped. Dating isn’t what it used to be and that might be a good thing.
What researchers have found is that singles are dating deeper than ever before. This is because they’re being pickier and taking their time getting to know the person they’re dating rather.
It’s not only the pace at which Americans are dating that’s changed but the precautions they take as well. Prior to the pandemic, the only precaution singles took was when deciding to wear a condom or take contraceptives. But now, Americans are having the sex-without-a-condom conversation… but with kissing.
With dating trends changing rapidly we wanted to take to the streets (read; virtual streets of IG) and ask women (read; super-duper beautiful IG influencers) how their dating lives have changed because of the pandemic.
Here’s what they had to say.
Dating During The Pandemic
Steph hasn’t been big on dating, but even when it comes to meeting up with friends she’s been mindful of the virus.
“Not specifically a date, but I went to eat with a friend who came from another country for the hollidays and I knew he just got a covid test (he was negative) and we had a healty distance between us, no hugging or talking too close to each other.”
Steph is the type of person that wears two masks, washes her hands for 20 seconds, and makes friends take PCR tests before kicking it. But not even all the precautions in the world could convince certain single women to date.
As Melissa told us, not even the most swipe-worthy guy could tempt her to go out.
“No, I’m so scare of covid and i really take care of my family, if things calm down a little I can try.”
The downside of not dating in the midst of a pandemic is abject isolation. It’s this isolation that led Reyna to date. When we asked for her thoughts on dating during the pandemic, here’s what she said.
“Yes, I’m still dating him. I was very hesitant to date someone, but I moved to another city and didn’t know many people. After several weeks of not talking to anyone, I decided to go on a dating app. For weeks I only spoke with Alexa. Nobody interested me but I felt lonely so I agreed to go have a beer with a boy who turned out to be looking for the same as me. It was refreshing to have human contact. Even if it was just a few beers.
What kind of precautions did you take?
“We met at a bar, my favorite bar, with a healthy distance. I’m a bit shy, so it suited me not to say hello with a kiss or hug.”
Like Reyna, Anel shows that you can safely go about dating. All you need to do is go slow and wear a damn mask.
“Yes! I’ve had some dates during the pandemic and I definitely took precautions; I wore a face mask and tried to keep my distance and prevent physical contact as much as possible. I believe that even though the situation is uncomfortable, we are getting more adapted to our reality.”
The time will come when you two are comfortable enough to take your masks off and smooch it out. But until then you’ll just have to engage in some CDC-approved makeout sessions like these two.
Though of course, some people are more cavalier than others as Pat shows us.
“Yes. I actually met my current boyfriend, we fell in love and are now together for 7+ month already. We just decided to risk it, I carried my hand gel with me and that was the only precaution I took lol”
Like I said, COVID-19 is a major dating impediment. Unless you’re willing to get tests, makeout with masks on, and only date one person, dating can be pretty rough. Jazzy however has another way to deal with the coronavirus.
”Yes, but I only used a face mask for 5 min and then I took it off .”
Everyone is handling the pandemic differently.
As we’ve mentioned, many people have suffered romantically and emotionally during this pandemic.
Not following CDC guidelines when dating will clearly lead to the spread of the virus. However, if the alternative is being isolated and bereft of romance can you really blame someone for trying to find a balance?
For Ellen, balance isn’t an issue.
She’s using the pandemic to focus on herself.
”I haven’t dated anyone during pandemic.I took this time to upgrade myself.”
The ladies of the gram have spoken.
It’s difficult to understand the toll the pandemic is having on the romantic lives of single Americans.
What we do know is that Americans were struggling to date and get it on prior to the pandemic, so a year+ of trying to ghost a pandemic will only compound prior trends.
Don’t believe me that young Americans had dating woes before the pandemic started?
Fine, I’ll let this chart convince you.
Look, the women of IG have shown us that just because there’s a raging pandemic out there doesn’t mean that dating is dead.
People are still meeting new people — albeit slower and more carefully than ever before.
If you’re ready to get back out there and brave the world of pandemic dating — great.
And hey, it’s okay if you’re a little nervous or don’t know how to start.
A great step forward would be to talk to a dating expert — wait those exist?!
Yep.
And they’re pretty good at helping single guys accomplish their romantic goals.
Book a 1-on-1 Zoom session with emlovz today to learn how you can turn your dating life around. Whether you’re looking for coaching or matchmaking, we have a solution for you.
