I think this goes without saying but 2020 has been a challenging year, for many reason, and having immediate family considered being high risk has made things all that more challenging. If you’re single and dating, you’re no doubt facing a special kind of challenges during this horrid pandemic. Dating in general is hard, especially after age 30 and personally, my social life and dating both suffered but at times like this we should get creative, right?
Once quarantine and social distancing became a thing I took a break from dating because I didn’t even know where to start, like how do you even date at a time like this? I identify with the all the single people out there and our struggles so much more than I did before social distancing, quarantine and many things still closed, as this now adds a whole new dimension of dating challenges. The playing field is narrower (like me, you probably should download back those apps that you deleted), plus we are also likely to have fewer nights out, events and places to meet people. So how does one date in time when we need to social distance?
So with social distancing, awkward dinner and coffee dates are out and video chats are in. Wether that means Skype calls, face time or zoom hang outs we made it work. There is something about not having to leave comfort of my home to go on a date that totally worked for me. I didn’t spend hours agonizing over a perfect outfit or changing like fourteen times, or picking a place both safe and comfortable were replaced a glass of wine and hang out from your couch. This also meant small talk was out, that awkward first oh hey and we don’t have to fret about who picks up the check at the end of the thing. And possibly the biggest plus: You’re forced to take things slow because you now have time actually get to know people.
There is ton of places online to meet people - from Tinder to Hinge to this Belfast dating site - you have ton of options. You wanna pick a platform that works for you - for example Tinder is not for me bu Hinge works well, especially since the women have to make the first move. Once you connected with someone use your favourite virtual date site (zoom, face time etc) , grab a glass of wine or tea and chat. I have used things like house party or had a virtual dinner and each has been a blast. You can even go as far as virtual speed dates - I had the opportunity to do a short video and the go a virtual speed dating. Way it worked was 20 women and 20 men create a video, you get a link to guys side and anyone you like you give thumbs up, if they did the same thing you get each others contact info. That was fun too - great for extroverts and creative people.
So regardless if Tinder is your jam, Belfest dating or virtual speed dating its easy to socializing responsibly. At times like this making connections is important - so how are you dating while social distancing?
