Zoom Dates, Booty Calls and Dating Trends

By Stephanie Ferreira
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Updated: October 8, 2020

Do you remember getting ready on Saturday nights? Dressing up to the nines? Ready to see the beautiful faces that were coming out to let their hair down? Now you can meet someone simply by staying on your couch or in your bedroom depending on where your desktop is or if you use your cell phone for emails and phone calls.

I wish that I could say that this was started due to Covid-19, however, this was a trend that started way before the pandemic. I used to love getting ready with my friends on the weekend and head to the nearest bar, which was our little hotspot. It was away from downtown, but it was still midtown. There were beautiful men around and there were beautiful women around. You didn’t have to fight to capture the bartender’s attention to be served.

Nowadays, you can pick someone up simply by swiping left or right on your cell phone.Type in what you are searching for, what they look like, the distance if you wanted them near you, etc. To find a potential partner, it seems like it’s that’s easy – almost like a home delivery system.

Back in March, we had to shut everything down whether you were in the states or in the great white North where I am. Dating seemed to become something that got put on the back burner for many singles. The biggest trend that I found and many individuals shared with me via Twitter is that all you had to do was show interest in someone by swiping on their profile. Send them a message providing them with your phone number or email, and ask you on a virtual date.

So what did the date look like, you might ask? One user shared, “All you have to do is get dressed from the waist up, pour yourself a glass of wine or beer or whatever drink you felt like having that night, prep a plate of food, sit down in front of your computer and get chatting online.” There’s no messages; you’re actually doing it in real time talking to the other individual. You can talk for as long as you want. It was much easier to make sure that you weren’t being catfished by someone pretending to be who you thought they were. There’s no risk of being in danger and you really didn’t have to go out in public if you didn’t want to.

My question is: what about the traditional dates? What about the locations you used to visit or the places where you hung out with your friends at the bar? Headed to the movies? What about physical contact? Reading body language?

I visited The Cat’s Cradle Sports and Spirits Bar In Toronto and I spoke to the owners about what they thought was missing at their location. ”We got great food, lots of cold drinks, everything for the sports nut and of course a trendy location for girls to come with their best girlfriends. However, there aren’t as many guys and gals who come out to our location to meet for the first time. We want people to come visit us and hopefully meet the person that they want to fall in love with.”

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This writer thinks that people have become too comfortable with staying at home. It is so easy to sit at home and hope that something happens overnight. I firmly believe that you have to meet that special someone in person. Get to know them. Friends don’t hang out at the bar like they used to. Movie theatres, bars, restaurants, concert halls, and theatre venues are all suffering. Add to the mix that you have to mask up everywhere you go can really put a damper on things. Nothing like meeting for the first time wearing protection on your face.

Have You Been Tested?

I’m not going to lie. I laughed at that last heading harder than I should have. It’s just I remember the days when family and friends would ask if you know if he or she has been tested. Now there’s more urgency to making sure that you’re tested for Covid-19 than if you are for an STD or STI. Much to my dismay, I actually laughed really hard when our Chief Public Health Officer – who specializes in Covid-19 – suggested that couples who do not live in the same household should mask up during intimacy. Just imagine that – a mouthful of mask instead of pussy, cock or ass. Definitely an all new meaning to the new term “Safe Sex.”

So what can you do to help these businesses thrive?

My single ladies and dudes, invite your bubble beauty-beaut friends out for a night on the town. Visit full small locations, the local family-owned bars or restaurants. If you notice a hottie, be courageous enough to ask them out on a date or two. To my married friends, how about dropping off the kids at their grandparents’ place and the two of you hitting a little romantic spot and helping both locations thrive.