Can Coronavirus Make Online Dating Safer and Global – Permanently?
Posted on April 2, 2020
OZY – Mar 30 – Physical dates are out. This is love in the time of coronavirus. Dating and romance are adapting. A growing number of apps and websites are now advertising virtual dating services aimed at keeping you safe, while some are allowing you to find dates in other parts of the world. League Live, launched by The League in late 2019, added a feature that allows users to message "isoDate", and become a member for free for their quarantine period. JWed launched video dates. Loko facilitates virtual dates. Plenty of Fish introduced a livestreaming feature. Tinder announced it is making Passport free for all users. It allows users to search for potential dating partners in faraway countries.
"Once the virus situation abates, virtual dating with video chat can still provide value as an initial step before meeting in person," Ben Rabizadeh of JWed says. Jeff Tinsley of RealMe, a platform dedicated to cultivating online safety, cautions "Don't expect people to be more honest just because it's a video date," he says, and that "as face-to-face meetups become less common, …video dates have the potential to become the norm for now."
