It should come as no surprise that popular dating apps such as Tinder or Hinge have seen a rather considerable boom since lockdowns became commonplace. With strict government-imposed social distancing rules making it nearly impossible for dating, sex or even casual and innocent flirting to occur, online dating has quickly become the safest way of meeting potential partners.
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Fast forward to almost a year since the pandemic began, and we find ourselves seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with the vaccination rollout program in full effect in the UK and other parts of the world.
As of latest news, over 15 million people have received at least one dose of the jab with a new goal of vaccinating all those over 50 by the spring time having been set by the UK government.
Dating app users taking restrictions seriously
Most interesting of all are reports coming from dating apps showing how the vaccination rollout program is affecting users' perceptions of potential matches. Tinder, for one, reported that there was a 258% increase in mentioning the word 'vaccine' between September and December of last year.
OkCupid, another popular online dating platform, saw a 137% increase in the use of the same word in conversation between November 202 and January 2021.
Bumble, on the other hand, confirmed that:
Two out of threepeople are already having the 'COVID conversation' before they meet. Before meeting up, 63 per cent of people had a conversation with their dates about the venue, mask wearing and physical contact, with 80 per cent of people saying that this helped get to know their date better and feel safer.
Supporting the vaccine might make you get luckier!
Not only are online daters seemingly taking COVID-19 restrictions seriously, but they are also much likelier to get with those who actively voice their desire to get vaccinated.
An OkCupid spokesperson confirmed:
Almost 70 per cent of over 45,000 OkCupid respondents said they are going to take the coronavirus vaccine. And people who said 'Yes' to our question 'Will you get the COVID-19 vaccine?' are getting more 'Likes' than those who said 'No.'
And added:
In fact, people who said 'Yes' or are still deciding are getting 2.3X more 'Likes' and 1.8X more 'Matches' than those who said 'No.'
