The COVID-19 quarantine is causing loneliness and depression to spike across America, but for those without partners, the isolation can feel even more burdensome. 45% of the U.S. population is single, which makes their ‘shelter-in-place’ guidelines even more difficult.
Our social lives are currently on pause, so single people no longer have the same opportunities to meet people and enjoy their romantic lives. But that doesn’t mean you have to surrender to loneliness and give up on your love life for the duration of the quarantine.
Consider these tips for Dating During Quarantine:
- Go to a virtual happy hour. You don’t have to skip happy hour, you just have to go a virtual happy hour instead of heading out to your local watering hole. Many people are organizing virtual happy hours and online karaoke parties, where you can get together with your friends and meet new people. Dress up, put on your best lipstick, pour yourself your favorite cocktail, and enjoying socializing from the comfort of your own couch. Earmark the money you would have spent on Ubers and bar tabs for a future vacation with your single friends once the pandemic is resolved.
- Go on Zoom dates. Do you have interesting matches from Tinder or similar dating sites? Arrange Zoom meetings with your potential love matches where you can enjoy quiet one-on-one time talking, watching a movie together, or even playing ‘get to know you’ games with ice-breakers. One added benefit of dating during quarantine is that you will suddenly have so much quiet time to get to really know people instead of being in a loud bar or surrounded by distractions.
- Avoid intimate contact. Safer sex should always be a priority, and right now, it’s not really possible to meet new partners and enjoy casual sex without the risk of exposing yourself to the virus. You can still enjoy sexting and other contact-free ways to explore sexual desire, but right now your safest sex partner is yourself.
- Use this time to your benefit. If you’re really struggling to be alone right now, this could be an invitation from the universe for you to really lean into that discomfort and take your self-inquiry further than you ever have before. Set an intention to make this time of quarantine a way for you to honor yourself and get to know yourself, and to really get clear on what you want from a partner and what romantic future you want to build for yourself.
- Don’t risk your life (or others’ lives) for a love connection. Don’t give into the temptation of ‘quarantine parties’ or other social gatherings that people are throwing in disregard of social-distancing guidelines. It’s hard for young, healthy people to accept their own mortality and vulnerability, but countless young adults have contracted COVID-19 as a result of going to parties or spring break trips instead of staying home as ordered. In turn, they have exposed their loved ones and vulnerable people in their community to the virus.
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