Along with working from home and trying new dishes, online dating reached new heights during the Covid 19 pandemic. According to a recent survey conducted by dating app QuackQuack, with people staying behind closed doors, online dating has become the new normal. While it may not provide the intimacy of physical proximity, cuddles, and canoodling, it has undoubtedly assisted them in overcoming their loneliness.

Love takes over physical intimacy

But the question now is, will dating resume and return to normalcy as a result of the reopening? However, due to the Covid outbreak, it is highly unlikely that it will return to pre-infection levels. A survey conducted during the pandemic revealed that there has been a paradigm shift in the dating world. People are more connected than ever before, and online connections are becoming an essential part of dating. When compared to before the outbreak, 70 per cent of users have seen a significant change in their behaviour and attitude toward dating. 70 percent of millennials and Gen Z believe that hook-ups, one-night stands, and casual approaches have taken a back seat during the pandemic and that they are looking for deeper connections now that they have more time.

What’s needs to be prioritised?

Indians have been forced to focus on what they are truly looking for while dating as a result of their isolation and my time in the pandemic. One-quarter (25 per cent ) of daters believe they are unwilling to compromise on what they want from a potential relationship. 60 percent of millennials began talking to their match with the intention of lust, but it turned out to be something more concrete due to deeper conversation in the pandemic. Seventy-two percent of single Indians believe it is possible to fall in love online even if they have never met in person. Due to loneliness and boredom, 50 percent of men and 60 percent of women sought love during the pandemic, while the number of lust cases decreased. 25 percent of men and 15 percent of women looked for lust because of boredom or something new to try.

Lust finds its own way

More than 30 per cent of married men and 20 per cent of women looked for lust on dating apps because of sexual tensions in their married life while spending time in the pandemic. 55 percent of men and 50 percent of women want someone they wouldn’t mind quarantining with keeping love and lust in their minds. The survey claims that a surge in mental health concerns such as stress, depression, and anxiety has helped people to learn a lot about themselves during the pandemic. The hookups or casual setup were no longer a stressbuster for people during the pandemic, instead, people looked for something serious because they had a lot to share about their stress and anxiety which got triggered due to loneliness in pandemic. 60 percent of millennials believe that someone can feel lustful towards strangers whilst simultaneously felt attached to someone after the conversations got more deeper as it’s human tendency.