With the world’s first Valentine’s Day in quarantine quickly approaching, many people find themselves considering just how drastically relationship norms changed since last March. Couples in long-term relationships have been forced to go extended periods of time without seeing one another, and healthy marriages have been challenged by heightened tensions and stay-at-home orders. Perhaps the most complex adjustment to conventional relationship dynamics has been the forced reform of the young adult dating scene.
There are a number of popular dating apps marketed towards young adults. Tinder and Bumble are common household names, although they have fallen out of favor in recent years. The overwhelming surge of bot accounts and toxic behavior on these apps has many turning to alternative dating options. One such option, an app called Hinge has soared in popularity during the pandemic. The app’s success is in part a result of its widespread advertising and in part because of its mission statement. Hinge is branded as a relationship app rather than a dating app. Its founders seek to help users establish long-term relationships with their matches, rather than short flings like those encouraged by Tinder and Bumble. Compared to other apps and dating sites, Hinge has the highest-known marriage rate between its users. As well, former presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg met his husband on the app.
Many single young adults, who consider themselves to be in their dating “prime,” have had to reevaluate their dating activities in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. With social-distancing ordinances discouraging in-person meet-ups between those in different households, young singles need to find new ways to make new connections. Some are conducting dates over Zoom and streaming movies together. Back in March of last year, the actions of a freelance photographer in Brooklyn, Jeremy Cohen, went viral when he asked a woman dancing on an adjacent rooftop out with the use of a drone. They later went on a dinner date, sharing a meal over FaceTime from their respective rooftops. Another bachelor on TikTok who uses the handle, 50dates50states used the pandemic as an opportunity to go on a virtual date with a girl from every state in the country.
Many young adults are having trouble finding dates who are willing to adhere to proper COVID guidelines. One student, who left Tinder and Bumble behind to exclusively use Hinge, remarked that the pandemic made her much more hesitant to meet up with people she matched with online: “I try to keep any in-person meetups limited to people I already know and who I know are staying safe. But most people I match up with online suggest having in-person dates at home doing things like cooking or watching a movie.” Uncomfortable with the idea of meeting someone in their home and hesitant to visit indoor restaurants, this student has elected to converse with dates online until things blow over.
Some may wonder whether the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on young adult relationships will become long-term. However, in considering the creativity, maturity and opportunism many young adults have displayed in response, it’s easy to see that human connection is not dead, but simply different.
