Has The Pandemic Changed Dating in 2024? | How Much Changed?

Hello there, welcome to the most informative dating article on the internet that will answer the question “has the pandemic changed dating?”

Many people say they experience ghosting more than ever and meet up with new potential partners less than ever.

So, this requires detailed input into how things look right now compared to how it was pre-pandemic.

In this article, our experts will unravel the following:

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  • How the dating world changed; especially considering dating sites
  • What are the numbers and statistics considering single people and romantic relationships
  • Does your vaccination status have an impact on your dating life
  • Answers to some frequent questions regarding post-pandemic dating

Let’s get into it!

How Did The Covid-19 Pandemic Change The Dating Scene

couple wearing masks, sitting apart on a white bench at a park

Among other things, the “new normal“ we’re all living in has us swiping on Tinder and similar apps more than ever.

This is not to say there are no ways to date during covid without dating apps, there are several ways to achieve this.

However, even though daters are on Bumble and Hinge more than ever, it seems like the quality of dating during covid lockdown has gone drastically down.

The first and most important information you need is that we now know that seven-in-one single people will be very upfront that their dating lives aren’t going well, according to the data gathered by a Pew Research Center study.

People weren’t satisfied with the state of the dating scene even before social distancing was put into place. 

It’s only to be expected that the situation will become even worse once the only thing we are left with is virtual dates.

This left many seeking ladies how to meet guys during covid and guys how to meet girls during covid because they didn’t know how to navigate the dating world with all these restrictions.

Happy young Hispanic female making a video call and waiving at her phone

Precisely, two-thirds of people were open that their dating lives weren’t at all good, with even three-quarters saying that it’s very hard for them to find potential partners to date.

It is obvious that pandemic relationships aren’t easy to maintain and one has to take extra steps to keep things working.

When it comes to how things are standing right now, 63% of people say that their dating life is now way harder than it once was.

And these results were pretty similar, almost the same when compared to what women and men are saying.

A batch of people, 32% of them, say that the situation has stayed the same, and there is a minimal amount of people, 3% of them, who say that their dating experience has gotten better.

Who knew, but it seems like video dates on Zoom are someone’s cup of tea.

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There seems to be a significant difference regarding age, with those younger than 30 being way more likely to report that dating has become harder – 71% of them, while 58% of those older than 30 will report the same thing.

young man wearing blue pants video chatting a Hispanic woman

Many Americans are not even on the dating market anymore, with even 56% of them saying that they aren’t looking for either casual sex or committed relationships.

That leaves us with 44% who are still looking, but only 16% are up for casual dates, while 32% are leaning towards intentional dating and looking for a serious relationship.

The pandemic didn’t change what people were looking for, but there surely is a new variant in town – the sex dating pandemic.

More than ever, couples are struggling with their sexuality and sexual health and this is a growing theme resulting from covid and associated lockdown restrictions.

If you’re one of such, you may want to use a little help with some of the best anniversary ideas during covid and spring up a pleasant surprise for your partner.

While there are significant changes in their dating journeys, the dating goals that adults have mostly stay unchanged.

For the most part, 59% of people, or six-in-ten singles, say that their views on finding a committed relationship have stayed unchanged, with 20% of people saying that this question didn’t apply to their dating situation.

Even though the consensus is that most people have unchanged opinions, there are some differences between different groups of people.

Young African American woman using laptop and toasting with Champagne while chatting on her PC

Those younger than 30 are way more likely to report that the pandemic has made them want a committed relationship – 22% of adults younger than 30 say this.

On the other hand, only one in ten and even fewer people older than 30 will say the same thing.

There is also a difference when men and women are compared, with 15% of men saying they now look for a long-term relationship, and only 8% of women agree with the same thing.

However, the worst-hit group is those who couldn’t sort out their relationship issues during covid which resulted in breaking up the relationship or divorce.

It is very important to know how to get through a pandemic breakup as it can be very lonely and difficult.

Has The Pandemic Changed Dating? Dating App Stats

Dating App on a smartphone screen

Some interesting stats and data collected include information from the most popular dating apps regarding how their usage changed back in March 2020 when the pandemic first started.

Tinder had reached new records when it came to its users, and even other popular apps weren’t far behind.

Bumble, for example, has had an increase in sending messages.

In Seattle, the increase was 21%; in New York, people sent 23% more messages; and in San Francisco, the increase was 26%.

These stats dated from when these cities were in complete lockdowns, so it’s not surprising to see increases like these.

Also, Hinge has reported that its revenue was tripled compared to the year before the pandemic, and examples like these go on and on.

This shouldn’t be surprising, as dating apps were the only source people had not only for dating and flirting but also for general socializing.

Many people downloaded and started to learn how to use dating apps during covid to make new friends, and even now, when things are more open up, people still use dating apps to connect with people outside the dating context.

One of the most trending apps during this period is Quarantine Together dating app, developed to help lonely people find others like them without much hassle.

Match Group, the company that owns Tinder, surveyed its users in 2021, and in that study, they gathered a lot of interesting facts.

People have changed their goals and priorities, not only regarding dating.

close up photo of a couple bringing their phones together to form a heart symbol

Out of 5000 single people that took part in this survey, 53% of them are now prioritizing their relationship search compared to how it was before the pandemic, and 58% of people are now participating in intentional dating.

Also, a lot of the surveyed people, more than half of them, have stated that they have made significant changes to their lives that intended to improve their health, both mental and physical, and build stronger relationships with their families.

Unplugging from social media and looking to improve self-confidence was also a common theme among the surveyed people.

This data isn’t surprising, as, for many young adults, this time was the first time they could decompress and question their priorities.

Finally, while casual sex and one-night-stands aren’t completely vanishing from the dating scene, only 11% of people in the survey said that that is what they are looking for.

We can see that being single in a pandemic created a lot of problems for many people, but let’s see how vaccination changed dating during covid.

Dating App Users And Vaccination

cheerful young woman in bed video chatting

You might not have known this, but Bumble has introduced a sticker that indicates your vaccination status.

This, and the fact that this has stirred a lot of debates among the general public, has inspired researchers to see how this could impact dating.

To the majority of people, 56% of them, this wasn’t a very important detail when choosing a potential date.

Speaking of the rest of the results, 21% of people will consider dating someone only if they were vaccinated.

The smallest amount of people, only 2%, are willing to go on a date only if the potential partner is not vaccinated.

When the researchers compared different groups, there weren’t many big differences between various demographic groups; however, there was a significant difference in which political party the surveyed people supported.

This means that those in support of the Republican party are way more likely to say that the vaccination status wouldn’t matter – 81% of them, while only 42% of those that support the Democratic party reported the same thing.

Overall, it’s safe to say that most people are not that passionate about this, so you are not very likely to run into problems, wherever your situation is.

Conclusion

young woman wearing white knitwear with heart symbols on blue background, red smartphone

You will agree with me that the pandemic has changed dating in so many ways – some good, others not so good.

However, we have also found ways to stay in touch with loved ones and family through the course of the pandemic.

Picking one of the top date ideas during covid or any of these quarantine activities for couples may be all you need to measure up to the pandemic dating landscape.

Wishing you all the best!

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