The pandemic demanded physical distancing. So, since March 2020, the world has been locked inside their homes. Everybody thought it would be temporary but after a year in isolation, we all have the same question in mind- when does this get over?

Humans are social beings, they crave the comfort of community. That is why society is built in a way that brings people together through religion, culture, art, politics, and more. However, the pandemic broke us away from these communities and forced us to thrive in anonymity. As mentally jarring as it was initially, we’ve all been adapting to the new normal in our ways.

Also Read: Love in the times of Corona: How has dating changed in 2020

Meeting people and connecting would have been a thing of the past had it not been for dating apps. Besides social isolation, many people also went through romantic isolation in this last year. There was no scope of meeting new people. Amidst this, loneliness crept in. That is when people started restoring to dating apps – a boon in times of isolation.

All over the world, people were now looking for more meaningful things than just overnight hookups, which was also not possible due to the COVID scene. So instead, they started finding meaning in late-night chats, long phone calls, postcards, and other old-school things. After all, it is in depravity that we find out the importance of love, connection, conversations, and touch.

Fortunately, dating apps were the only strings that were holding an estranged world and grounding them in love again. Most times, people are not even expecting to find love from these dating apps but just someone to save them from their emotional isolation. There were times last year when people forgot how to bring words together to hold a conversation – such was the effect of this pandemic on our mental health. However, like cockroaches, it is strange what all humans can endure.

People, especially the youth, all over the world, have found some sort of solace in dating apps. A few still believe it is a platform for people who are ‘too desperate’ to find someone. However, that is far from the truth. Most people are just trying to find someone to talk to.

Also Read: Whitney Wolfe Herd: Billionaire who redefined dating and business norms for women

Sebastien, a 19-year-old student in France, said “It sounds like a cliche, but the apps have really kept me from sinking.”

Rodrigo, who has found friends on these dating apps, said, “It’s all we have left.”

With fresh sets of lockdown in different parts of the world, the hope that had kindled in the hearts of the people have again dimmed. As our connection with the real world gets vaguer, we set to find the missing bits in the virtual world.

Statistically, Match, the platform that runs apps like Tinder, Hinge, and Meetic reported that more than one million people joined their dating apps in the second part of 2020, with some 11 million people using apps to find a connection in a world that is losing its meaning every day.