There are many inconveniences than come with being on lockdown, one of which is definitely dating! I think it all comes back to the importance of socialising as part of a well balanced life, not being able to go out and meet new people, have a last minute drinks date or go out for dinner with someone new, it all adds to the feeling that being on lock down is really bloomin lonely!
Today I wanted to talk about the benefits of online dating and the best ways to go about it! Years ago in those heady days of aol chatrooms and passive aggressive msn screen-names, we were resigned to meeting people virtually and never really getting the chance to progress to physically meeting. I remember having tons of online friends as a teenager, people I could chat to and boys are crushed on pretty hard without ever getting to physically meet up (my teen budget didn’t stretch to train tickets and my Dad would never have allowed me to meet a stranger off the internet!)
It occurred to me that although meeting someone, without actually meeting them, wasn’t ideal, there was something very special about getting to know someone through the medium of writing, and dare I say..romantic? Catching feelings for someone not just based on physical attraction and a rushed first date, but by spending time learning about their interests, their passions and hopes for their lives from the comfort of your own home, there is definitely magic in that!
So here are my top 5 benefits of dating and how to go about it online during lockdown:
- You attract the right type of person. With no realistic expectation of meeting up anytime soon, you don’t have a constant influx of those less than impressive men badgering you to meet up. People looking for one night stands tend to shy away from using dating websites/apps when the prospect of physical dating is off the table. It means the people you start chatting with are much more likely to want to develop a real relationship and when lock down ends you might connect with someone truly special.
- Everyone has stopped. It sounds weird but lockdown has forced most of us to stop working, socialising and travelling for now, it’s frustrating in terms of living but for dating it can actually be weirdly beneficial. The pool of people looking for potential partners in your area is now bigger Websites like datecumbriasingles.co.uk for example which is a Cumbria dating site would allow you to find people local to you who are looking for love and people have more time then ever to cultivate a relationship.
- You really get to know someone. I don’t think we will ever experience the level of stress and fear that we have during this pandemic on a global level again. In that way, every single one of us has something in common right now and from that you can really see if someone is on the same wavelength as you. For myself I have found the lockdown quite hard, finding someone who shares my feelings and can empathise bodes well for a future relationship, if I was to talk to someone online and they were finding lockdown really easy and maybe found my down mood a bit off putting then I could be sure we would have a different outlook on life and were probably not compatible.
- You can take your time, there isn’t a rush to get to the ‘shall we go for drinks’ part of the conversation and with that comes a sense of relief, dating can be like a being on a conveyer belt sometimes so being able to slow down and just really get to know someone before physically meeting is a refreshing change of pace!
- Be creative. It’s really easy to have a good date if you are going to a comedy night, for drinks in a new bar or a to see a show in the west end, these sorts of dates act as great buffers, but when it’s just you and your date it can be a whole different ball game! Being able to develop a relationship in lockdown is definitely based more on the personal, someone organising a virtual date night, watching a film together (but not together!) or just spending time on the phone, these things build deeper connections and when lockdown ends you are already able to see if a relationship has real potential!
I also think it’s really fun to spend time having online game nights, video calling and sharing music, these are really simple ways to get to know who someone is, what they enjoy and if they are a sore loser (vital info for any relationship!)
So those are my favourite benefits and ways to go about dating online during the lockdown, I really hope they motivated you to take the plunge and put yourself out there (virtually!) and helped you potentially meet someone special.
Imagine what a great story it would make to tell the grandkids about how you and granddad met…
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