Lockdown love: the best dating apps for surviving time apart

DATING ON SNAPCHAT

Anywhere you talk to your friends has the potential to become a dating app. Snapchat’s got your back on this one – like a digital wing-human. Here’s why it works:

• Everything just feels that little bit more private. It’s live for 24 hrs and it can be seen for a second time around ­– but you’ll know exactly who’s screenshotted it. Oh, snap! Suddenly we’re excited.

• It’s playful! We can afford to be a little more creative with Snapchat dates. We don’t even need to decide a time and place (which always leads to stress and overthinking).

• It’s pretty good for flirting. Self-deleting messages mean dating on Snapchat feels like you’re just talking in the real world. Even if you say something a little cringy, it’ll expire after you’ve both read it and left the chat.

• It’s so good, other dating apps have copied it. Snapchat for hook-ups used to be its only rep, but now it’s all about the long game. You can create longer Snaps by holding down on the camera button and get a proper Snapstreak going. And Bumble took notice.

• Keep that Snapstreak going. If you’ve been exchanging Snaps for 3 straight days you’ll see a 🔥. If that number next to it is high, then it’s time to get planning that socially distanced date.

TIKTOK DATING

TikTok is a low-key dating app. And by that we mean – get on it, it’s the way forward.

• Lead the way with your likes. As well as choosing to follow other users, your content will be guided by what you’ve previously liked on the app. So, keep liking what floats your boat, and you’ll see more of it (as well as let that certain someone know that you’re liking their content, which is never a bad thing).

• Be creative with your DMs. As with other social media, you can DM on TikTok, but it’s that little bit more expressive. Start a full-on video date through your TikToks – it’s surprisingly easy to spend hours on there. Because everyone’s feeling a bit more footloose and fancy-free, the vibe is a little more relaxed – there’s less intensity to a DM than say, on Insta. So, make the most of the get creative and lose the inhibitions!

VIRTUAL DATING ALTERNATIVES

Lockdown love begins on video, so it’s no surprise that Tinder has launched a virtual dating feature to make the most of social distancing guidelines.

But why get involved?

• Video dating apps allow for that instant connection to go beyond messaging. We’ve all been there when everything appears to be going great in the messages and then you meet up and the mood is flatter than Holland. Get. Me. Out.

• But with video chats, dating is saved from the awkward pauses – you’ll be able to suss each other out in actual conversation, from the comfort of your own home. What’s not to like? You can simulate getting closer way more than if you were just messaging.

• And when you’ve had a few video dates, take things further with a virtual Netflix and Chill or some of these zero cost date ideas to keep the spark from burning out. It’s an easier way to sort out who you want to meet up and socially distance with, in the long run.

Clearly, surviving time apart from people doesn’t mean being disconnected! Keep in touch (without, you know, touching) with these virtual dating tricks – even after lockdown, video dates are a good way of meeting with someone before you commit to getting close.