UnpreceDATING Times

The pros and cons of dating in Stage 4 lockdown.

By Gee Kay

Source: GiPHY

Here in the land of lockdown, couples are getting to know each other better than ever. Gifted all this extra time, they are exploring their love and making fun new memories at home (well, as fun as a couples jigsaw party can be).  

Meanwhile, your single friend’s ongoing quest to find love s̶o̶m̶e̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶g̶r̶u̶d̶g̶i̶n̶g̶l̶y̶ ̶ marches valiantly on. After all, these days, it’s more likely that you’ll bump into a panicked Karen at Aldi than the love of your life at The Tote.

Luckily, singles have somewhat of a menu of 21st-century communications to find and nurture budding relationships. That said, although singles are creatures of independence and resilience, they’ve had to flex both their expectations and creative spirit to find a ‘real connection’. 

Here, we explore their options (cue SVU music: Dun-DUN!)

The Text

Ugh texting, getting the emoji right, who needs it? Source: CBS

Pros 

• Ultimate low involvement, low maintenance encounter (some might say, like a certain podcast..)

• ‘Meet’ lots of people at once 

• The luxury of time to compose a witty reply 

• Grammar police kink (you know who you are)

• Can use millennial favourites: Emojis and GIFs 

• Easy to multi-task: cooking, cleaning, using the bathroom etc

Cons

• Added screen time to already long days online 

• Can be a lot of time investment for little reward 

• Possible catfish 🤔

The Phone Call

I shoulda left my phone at home cos this is a dis-as-ter! Source: Lady Gaga / Beyonce, Y