Dating apps are adapting to life in — and after — the pandemic Part 1

Early in the coronavirus pandemic, Jennifer Sherlock went out with a few men she met through dating apps. The dates were “weird,” she said, and not just because they were masked, socially distanced and outdoors. On one occasion, a date remained masked while they were out for a stroll, but soon after invited her back to his place, a move Sherlock saw as reckless. “It was so off-putting and awkward,” she said. “So we wouldn’t be safe outside without mask(s), but we would be safe back at his place maskless?” She decided she needed a way to filter people, so she began arranging video chats before agreeing to meet anybody in person. Sherlock, 42, a PR consultant who lives in New Jersey, said it’s a practice she’ll continue post-pandemic. Sherlock isn’t alone in changing the way she used dating apps during the pandemic, prompting many app makers to roll out new features. Despite the social distancing of the past 18 months, the use of dating apps in general has surged as people sought connections amid their isolation. Tinder reported that 2020 was its busiest year yet, and this year its users have already set two records for usage between January and March. Hinge tripled its revenue from 2019 to 2020, and the company expects it to double from that this year. (AP) To be continued… This article was provided by The Japan Times Alpha.