Dating Digitally Disrupted!

Surya Harikrishnan talks about the modern Indian male’s approach to relationships during the lockdown

- Surya Harikrishnan

Hearts fluttered when netizens watched Jeremy Cohen and Tori Cignarella begin their dating journey virtually. These New Yorkers’ series of viral TikTok videos, told their story of how they met—drones flying over rooftops to first deliver hand-written notes, then exchanging text messages, and catching up over video calls. The world knows they are in love, thanks to that drone meet cute that went viral. Cohen and Cignarella are just one among thousands of couples around the world experimenting with finding love during the lockdown. While millennials and Gen Z argue that the dating scene was already in a major flux pre-pandemic, lockdowns across the globe became a catalyst for a lot of people to be inventive or approach dating, differently.

With time and technology suddenly on the side of those seeking romance, the online dating scene received an unprecedented fillip. Dating apps have reported a constant stream of anecdotes of partners coupling up virtually during the lockdown. “Reports suggest between 30 to 300 per cent increase in virtual chats,” says Bengaluru-based counseling expert Mahesh Natarajan, who believes people will be torn between the ongoing concerns of COVID, and their own need for company.