RPT: REVIEW - People In Post-Pandemic World Likely To Trade Quantity For Quality In Relations

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 07th June, 2020) Love in the post-pandemic world will never be the same again as, faced with a potentially life-threatening future, people who survive the crisis will surely trade quantity for quality in their love lives and move toward more meaningful dates, experts believe.

As COVID-19 rates begin to slow across the world, some nations are starting to lift their coronavirus lockdowns. Yet, the full abolition of such measures is still far away, and the world population will be living with social distancing for a long time. As people try to connect in the new reality, online dating is surging.

Socially distanced outings, international online dating, steamy video chats - would-be Romeos and Juliets are adapting to the new era of the coronavirus and post-coronavirus world. Meanwhile, dating apps are finding ways to adjust by introducing new video features and functions.

Over 200 million people are using dating apps and websites, according to Statista online portal. The numbers show that they are using the apps more intensely than in the pre-COVID-19 era. OkCupid, Tinder and Match have seen a rise of activity by 27 percent on their websites.

The world will probably discuss the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on people's love lives for many years to come, Dr. Alexandra Solomon, Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Northwestern University who also runs dralexandrasolomon.com website, told Sputnik.

"I think there will be many love stories that begin with a chapter that is about conversation and caretaking behavior, checking in on each other and being a bright spot in an otherwise stressful and dull day," she said.

The expert hopes that everyone after the quarantine will emerge with a newfound respect for themselves.

"I prefer to imagine a new era in which we all relate to each other with more respect, mutuality, and wholeheartedness because we have survived a collective trauma," she said.

She also hopes that the first kiss of couples who start their relationships while sheltering-in-place, will be much sweeter due to the prolonged anticipation.

The expert admitted that today, people are experimenting with video dates "with varying degrees of success and enjoyment.

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According to Solomon, the coronavirus lockdown teaches people "to live a bit more simply."

"Less frenzy, more integrity. Less posturing, more alignment. Therefore, I suspect that people will trade quantity for quality in their dating lives and move away from patterns of high-volume swiping in favor of more meaningful first dates," she explained.

With many online chats, digital life in the 21st century and in the pandemic-past-pandemic world seems to be as important as social life.

"Many people have noted that the more time we spend curating our online personas, the more anxious we feel with the spontaneity and vulnerability of real-time interaction. Perhaps surviving the pandemic will remind us that our realness makes us lovable and that what we crave most of all is presence!" Solomon said.

Meanwhile, according to a recent poll from London-based dating service Badoo, at least 76 percent of the respondents said that they now want to get to know a match better before even considering meeting, while 68 percent said they have become more honest with people "about who they are and what they're looking for since lockdown began."

The service also publishes stories of people who were sitting on lockdown within its #TakeThePressureOff campaign, which is designed to make single people across the globe feel more accustomed to dating during the time of COVID-19.

"I know people are super lonely right now, but I still think it's important now more than ever to only let people into your life (online or offline) that at least make you feel good," Natalie Byrne, a London based illustrator and podcaster who makes work around social issues, said in her letter published by the service within the campaign.

Byrne admitted that she found herself becoming honest with the people she was choosing to talk to.

"I've had more time to really think about what I want and what I don't want, and I really don't want a relationship anytime soon. So I've had these hard conversations with anyone who I am talking to, and it's made me feel more at peace. Communication is always a good thing," she concluded.