Lockdown Love Life

(Above: When dating was less challenging)

Finding your love life a little...dry of late? Needing some company? 

With most of the country still in a sort of lockdown limbo, and social distancing still enforced, if you’re an eligible singleton, you’re entitled to feel a little cheated by all this. It’s so easy to feel like you’re constantly all dressed up with nowhere to go. You can of course wait until all this blows over, but who knows when that will be? 

But have you considered virtual dating? It can be a great way to get to know someone, without the pressure of spending all of your money, or of failing an attempt to seal the deal. Now I know we’ve all had enough of dry Zoom chats by this point, so here are a few ideas to make that virtual date a little more exciting.

Virtual Dinner

Why not try cooking the same meal? Plan ahead, buy the ingredients you need, and have your video call open whilst you cook. Not only is it a great and informal way of opening conversations with someone, but you can get a gauge of their likes and dislikes, and their skills (or total lack thereof) in the kitchen. And if all else fails, you’ll have a lovely home cooked meal at the end of it. 

Themed Dates

This is a good way of getting to know someone. Perhaps read the same book ahead of time, or have a few things that you have both agreed to talk about. I know this can sound clinical, but truly, it’s a great way to get an idea of someone straight, and you truly might learn something in the process. Find out what you have in common, and where you differ.

Watch a Film

Choose a film ahead of time, synchronise your watches, and commence viewing. You can either live call, or live text your responses, and speak afterwards about what you just saw, rather like swinging for a drink after a date at the cinema. This will give the conversation a focus, and depending how bad the film is, a source of shared hilarity.

LIGHTS, CAMERA - Give yourself some mood lighting if you can. You shouldn’t have all the house lights blaring if you bring someone home, and neither should you for this. Also, try to get the angle right - no need to obsess about your best side of course, but no one needs the double chin from below look. And dress the part, your joggers are fine for the Zoom call, but no excuses for being slovenly here. Perhaps a silk cravat would do the trick...?

EASY ESCAPES - Remember you are always in your own environment, and can simply leave the call if necessary. If someone is a bore, or say something that you really don’t like, there are myriad ways to leave. On a more serious note, safety is much less of an issue than it would be on a real date with a virtual stranger.

ASK QUESTIONS - This should be obvious, but we’ve all been on dates where it’s all “me, me, me”. Take an interest, try and learn something about the person you’re speaking to. It’s not as if you'll have a lot to talk about bearing in mind most of our experiences at the moment, so have a think and come prepared.

The most important part - this is supposed to be FUN. Try and establish if you have a spark or a connection with someone, and if you enjoy this, you will almost certainly enjoy time spent in their tangible company. There is no need to live like a monk all of a sudden. So go and get what you deserve, and have a good time doing it.