With virtual communication being the only resort, there is a strong desire to build trust online before taking the relationship ahead. (Source: getty images)Among other things, the pandemic has also impacted dating trends with people navigating virtual or socially-distanced tete-a-tete.
Recent data by dating app Bumble revealed that more than 40 per cent of Indians who dated said they were no longer confident about dating successfully. And 70 per cent of Indians said they were not comfortable navigating the new dating rules in 2020. One in two people said they were ready to go on a date in-person.
That said, dating apps have seen an increasing urge to make social connections since the time of the coronavirus-led lockdown in March. Bumble India alone saw over 540 million messages being sent in 2020.
Among those who dated, “working from home” emerged as the “most popular topic of conversation on Bumble India” in 2020 as 57 per cent of people discussed this as their “new normal”.
Even as people longed to travel amid pandemic restrictions, “beach or mountains” became the most popular profile prompt on Bumble India in 2020. Besides, daters also talked about zodiac signs, and Leo was the luckiest in love across India on Bumble, in 2020, the data revealed. People also used a lot of emojis, the most popular being the classic red heart.
Slow dating
With virtual communication being the only resort, there is a strong desire to build trust online before taking the relationship ahead, Bumble’s survey found. “More than 40 per cent of the Bumble global community are slowing down the ‘get to know you phase’,” read the press release. There has also been a remarkable increase in video and voice calls (38 per cent globally).
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New-dawn daters
Over 46 per cent or one in two people on Bumble were likely to be “new dawn daters” or those who were newly single after a break-up during the pandemic. One of the biggest reasons for break-ups (about 46.45 per cent) was the inability to see a partner.
Dating in 2021
Bumble’s survey predicted that even in the new normal, dating in-person was not off the table. At the same time, more and more people would take to virtual dating “with one in five up for using Video Chat heading into the New Year.” About 69 per cent of Bumble users also said that they were planning to use dating apps just as much as they do now, if not more through Valentine’s Day 2021.
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