No matter what you are — a beachy influencer, frazzled work from home parent or a fledgling tech-guy, the Covid-19 outbreak has reduced us all to homebodies. For the better or worse, our lives have been reduced to what it really is: surviving a pandemic by doing the bare minimum ever expected out of common man in history: staying indoors.
Come to think of it, isn’t now the best time to build, and make way for fresh equations? If you thought #LoveInTheTimeOfCorona was merely a cliched hashtag, it’s time to rethink. A volley of dating and social network apps are witnessing an unprecedented rise in their user base. From singles to the perpetually bored, there seems like a lure that weaves its magic on most young adults on a self-quarantine. But, what’s getting people to “look around” yet again?
“Mandatory confinement at home with the spouse, that is depriving married people of that little freedom and privacy they used to have and exacerbates pre-existing couple issues driving them to find a distraction online,” reveals Solene Paillet, Marketing Director of Gleeden — world’s first discreet extramarital dating app for women. As per the statistics shared by the organisation, in Italy for example, where mandatory quarantine started on March 4, a boom in subscriptions was witnessed after the first week, but that has tripled in the past two weeks. The traffic on the website has been increasing by 300% and the time spent on the website went from an average of two hours to a current average of three hours every day.
India is no less. Currently, subscriptions have increased by 70%. “Going on Gleeden, meeting strangers or getting to know better people you’ve already been talking to, feels a little like going out to a bar, meeting someone interesting, sharing a drink and talking. It’s exactly that kind of “me-time” that people need and get every day without even noticing,” states Solene, adding, “We are so used to meeting people, talking to strangers, making new acquaintances for work or leisure, flirting a little, that now that this is getting taken away from us, platforms such as Gleeden have become a primary need which is why platforms like Gleeden put members’ privacy in the first place and guarantee that level of privacy that perhaps other environments don’t.”
Other players vouch for a similar trend, as is the case with Bumble too, Priti Joshi divulges about a surge in the userbase. “Overall, the data indicates a trend of increased use of Bumble by our new and existing users, especially as it pertains to our chat, Video Call and Voice Call features,” states Priti, opining, “As we are now just entering the initial phase of quarantine/lockdown, we’re expecting these and other user behaviour trends to evolve as more and more people are looking for ways to combat isolation and loneliness and engage in 1:1 virtual connection.” Thinking along similar lines, Anil Kumar, founder of next-generation online matchmaking platform, Jodi365.com, avers the rise in numbers to the sociological conditioning instilled in humans for companionship.
“A flu-like virus, no matter how contagious or deadly, is not going to turn those instincts off. Interestingly, March 27 was the busiest day in the history of our business.” Foreseeing a further rise amid the lockdown, Anil adds, “If anything, we may be more inclined to seek out support, validation, and companionship in times of distress or social distancing.”
Safety is a priority
It’s always a great feeling to catch a good vibe and build a rapport with a stranger online — but, only when backed with safety just to be certain that you aren’t being taken for a ride. Reiterating the same, Priti Joshi says, “Photo verification helps ensure that the person you’re connecting with is who they say they are. If you see the blue tick mark on someone’s profile you know they’ve gone through Bumble’s photo verification process. Don’t see the tick mark next to someone’s name? You can always request that they verify the profile after you match.”
Private detector
An in-app feature in Bumble that takes an unprecedented approach to advancing safety in both the digital and real worlds, Private Detector is able to capture, blur and alert users that they’ve been sent an unsolicited nude image. It’s the user’s choice to either delete, view or report the image.”
What people say
Users have reported mixed feelings on the same, but are grateful for the bittersweet somethings, amid the crisis. “I found this relationship sometime before the lockdown. I first connected with her in November via one of the prominent matrimonial sites, met her a few times, then our parents met and finally on Jan 1 this year, it got finalised,” enthuses Aritro Dasgupta, a 32-year-old independent consultant, “We got engaged on March 11, and are scheduled to marry in early July, but now much has changed. While we are speaking to each other and chatting online for much of the day, we aren’t able to meet. This rankles, but I’m looking forward to meeting her again once the lockdown is lifted.” He describes his online find as therapeutic. Neha Bhandari, a communications professional says, “Not making new friends but have found my first crush from Class 1 on Insta. Always wanted to know who the guy was with whom I used to go to school and made some family plans too.” She also believes that networking apps can be seized to build platonic connections.
Keep the date, but...
Is it healthy and feasible to expect to find love online? “It’s a common notion that love is something that happens naturally and there is a romantic charm to close, personal real-time interaction to know a person fully. Online dating sites make it convenient and feasible to connect with a large pool of people around you which might have been impossible or difficult if done organically. Just like every coin has two sides so is the case with online dating.
Pros
♦ Physical barriers and time are no longer an obstacle to connect with a
partner.
♦ The filters in dating sites help you match with people who have common
interests, lifestyle, ideologies, and hobbies. This increases the chances of
connecting with individuals who you can connect with.
Cons
♦ Online dating has made it easier and convenient to ghost people who we
don’t gel with leaving some scarred and confused without any closure.
Expectations can be non-aligned since some may look for a casual fling, for
others they might be looking for a long-term commitment.
♦ It’s easy to manipulate a fake persona
♦ The online space is a fertile ground for cybercrimes, an intrusion of
privacy.
♦Be it online or offline, keeping your wits about yourself and being
mindful of the people you connect with can ensure that your happy ending is a
few clicks away.
(Courtesy Vikram Beri, founder, BetterLYF.com, an online platform that aims to
support and help those in distress and in need of counselling)
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