“Have you been tested?” my friend messaged her in the dating app Bumble.
“Yes, about four months ago and I’ve only been with one person since, and we were safe,” she replied. “Well that’s good to know, but I was talking about Covid lol,” he quipped back…
The pandemic has changed dating. This includes the way in which we are getting to know each other. The courting process, conversations we are having on first dates, and the mediums we are using to connect (I’m looking at you Zoom!) would make our ancestors dizzy. From wedding planning to one night stands, Covid’s effects can be felt throughout our love lives.
Are people horned up, and will there be a pendulum swing to the wild side of life after this? Probably. Will there be Coronababies and booming divorce rates? Yes, it’s already happening, but let’s look past that through the 81 people we had fill out a survey about their relationship status during the lockdown.
Quarantine reminded us that family is important
Statement 1: The current situation makes me want to settle down more and start a family/partnership. 81 respondents, only 9 of them (11%) already felt “settled down.”
The lockdown may have brought into focus our deeper romantic goals and this seems like a good thing. We have been reminded that life and society is actually fragile and fickle and that brings to focus our biological and evolutionary goals.
- 43% of our respondents agreed (26%) or strongly agreed (17%) that the current situation makes them want to settle down more and start a family/partnership. If you take out the 9 people that are already in relationships that goes up to 49%!
A takeaway here is that time is our most precious commodity and it is something we can spend in different ways, especially in our relational lives. Looking at my day today I have spent more time in front of a screen than on investing in my relationships. A goal of mine is to even this out throughout the day.
If you are single and truly want something more, I would really take a close look at your hours per day that you are spending on meeting and connecting with someone. Go to the beach, alone, and with a book! If you see someone alone at the beach with a book then go talk to them, ask them about their book! Jaunty.org is here to make those hours as efficient as possible for you.
Some of us are glad we don’t have the responsibility of others right now.
- 18% of our respondents disagreed (11.%) or strongly disagreed (7%) that the current situation makes them want to settle down more and start a family/partnership. If you take out the 9 people that are already in relationships that goes up to 21%.
I can also understand this perspective in the short term because if relationships are work (which they are) it’s an added layer on top of the chaos. Hopefully you have relationships that make life easier rather than harder!
You are not alone
The most important point of this is that you are not alone. Whether you are in the majority of the responses or not, it doesn’t matter. Realize though that time is not unlimited. The meet market’s open hours may not always coincide with your schedule so capitalize on the times you see products you like )
Written by Eric Waisman
