Online Dating in the midst of a Pandemic

We all get a little lonely now and then, especially during a pandemic. What are your experiences with online dating during this time, or even before the pandemic? What difference do you see in online dating before and during the pandemic?

From my own experience, I see a lot more fake profiles and people that set their location to nearby and then when you ask to meet...all of a sudden they're "I'm only here for one more day!" or "I live in New York" and that is when it's a byyyyeeee from me. Through the years of dating and getting to know people, and years of being single, I've gotten to learn more of what I want to find and what I like for myself. I used to just date one after another without time for myself. And now that I've been single for almost three years, I've had time to learn about what I like and what I want to find. Also, just having that time to learn to love and care for myself was the most important.

I never was the biggest fan of online dating because I never knew how to start or carry on a conversation. I'm usually a listener and very introverted, so to carry on a conversation online was something that didn't come naturally to me. A lot of times there would be long pauses and breaks between each message. Trying to answer so that the conversation keeps going and doesn't sound like I'm being rude or anything. But during the pandemic, we weren't allowed to go out much (which, by the way, I'm not complaining about) and the only way to really meet or chat with new people was online. But once I got on any of the online dating apps, there were so many more profiles that had photos that were all professionally taken and looked so picturesque compared to a few years back, and I think to myself...if this is what online dating looks like now, people will slowly go back to starting up conversations with strangers at bars/pubs or wherever they would strike up a conversation with. Because there is no way to even trust that any of these profiles are real people, catfishing is so prominent in these apps that people will have to revert back to meeting people through friends or meeting people out on the street, at school, at work, or any other way just to make sure that the person they're talking to is a real person and they know what they look like for real, and is someone that is in the same city. And to be honest, reverting back to meeting people the old school way is so much better for society as a whole, giving us more face time rather than screen time. We all need more human contact and interaction considering what we've all been through the last two years.

Please share with me your experiences with online dating below, or email me at lifewithmishell@gmail.com

I would love to hear what you guys have gone through and what funny stories you would like to share!

And please also send suggestions of topics you would like my opinion on for any upcoming posts :) stay beautiful!