Spring is here, vaccines are making their way into people’s immune systems, and singles are beginning to go out on dates! However, what will the future of dating post pandemic look like?
While the prospect of dating like “normal” is exciting, it can also result in FODA, or fear of dating again.
One of the biggest shifts, we’ve seen over the last year is how we work. We’ve gone completely remote, meetings have moved online and we are now used to working from our home office’s… or bed!
Socialising and, more specifically, dating have also gone though quite a transformation over the last year. The way we have been able to connect has completely changed. I mean, how can you meaningfully date when you’re stuck indoors during a pandemic?
Back in March 2020, when lockdown first hit and we found ourselves inhabiting a strange, new way of existing, we might have assumed that the pandemic would put dating on hold. That was not the case.
With an increase in use of dating apps and dating event companies like Unified Dating, people have still made the effort to connect with other like-minded singles. In April 2020, messaging on Tinder increased globally by 52% since the start of March. UK Hinge also reported that almost half of their users had been on a video date since the new function launched last summer.
Even people that did not consider themselves to be ‘tech-savvy’, increasing become more active online and interested in online dating. Those who adopted digital-first mindsets throughout the pandemic were eager to find love in new ways.
Dating during the pandemic has soared!
So what, does the future of online dating look like now?
While the use of online dating has endured, the real growth is yet to come. As dating hotspots open their doors once more, meetups will be the first priority, giving opportunity for brands to promote businesses and activities for couples.
It seems likely that many people will continue to choose online dating, rather than face to face. In particular, young people that have not yet had the vaccine.
But for those who will choose to meet up in person, being able to trust your date now underpins everything.
When you’re dating, it’s always important to work out your boundaries and dealbreakers and let your date know what these are, as you need to. It has been very important to set boundaries for your dates since the first.
These boundaries may have rolled back or pushed forward depending on infection rates, Tier systems etc. but they should always be there.
Here are some boundaries you may want to talk to your date about before meeting up:
taking regular Covid-tests (especially before meeting)
- agreeing to be physically exclusive with your date after a certain period of time
- a period of quarantining before forming a ‘social bubble’
- choosing to social distance on dates or to spend all of your time outdoors.
- wearing a mask at times… yes you can still date whilst wearing a mask!
Researchers found that those who had indicated they felt more vulnerable to disease consistently displayed much lower levels of interest in their prospective dates, but it is still possible to date in the post-pandemic world!
Unified Dating offer online and offline events so you can choose whichever makes you feel more comfortable.