This is post-lockdown online dating in 2021, where sliding into the DMs is less vulnerable and lower-stakes than ever.
A crop of Instagram accounts and newsletters are showcasing single people to a wide, yet self-selecting audience, giving people a chance to meet online, but squarely outside of the apps, in a form of dating that falls somewhere between manic Tinder swiping, Craigslist missed connection ads, professional matchmaking, and a capital-s Single’s events. Unable to meet people IRL, dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, Grindr, and Hinge became the main way singles met, and what once was a quick drink was exchanged for an awkward FaceTime date or a cold park hang that would end when someone had to use the bathroom.īut during lockdown, a new kind of online dating started. There’s been no shortage of think pieces detailing the trials and tribulations of what it was like to be single in 2020.