Here’s 9 Ways To “Date” Even Under Quarantine

­­For those of us who aren’t directly sick or have loved ones in the hospital, modified life during lockdown goes on. If you were single and searching before the pandemic, finding your soulmate just got more complicated. How do you boost your connection when you meet someone you like on dating apps but can’t meet in person? Here are 9 ideas for “dating” while apart (that you may even enjoy more than traditional pre-Corona dates).

1. Try FaceTime/Google Duo calls. Some people aren’t big on talking on the phone. They make minimal small talk on an app, then jump straight to asking you to get coffee or dinner. They want to gauge your in-person chemistry before investing a lot of time into a dead-end talking stage with someone. Unfortunately, Corona-dating means that option is out. Video chatting is the next best thing to meeting in person because you can still see someone’s body language and facial expressions while you’re talking, which you miss through texting or voice-only calls.
2. Work out together. Wanting to avoid the dreaded “Quarantine 15” and bond with a potential new boo? Log onto a video chat platform like Zoom or Google Hangout and use the screen share feature to watch exercise videos together. There are tons of free fitness channels on YouTube including one of my favorites, Yoga with Adrienne. The best part about this is you can finally go all out without fear of him smelling you get sweaty!
3. Go on virtual roller coaster rides. Thank the brave people who sat in the front seat of a ride with their camera phones so you could experience the thrill from home. If you and your potential man are the adventurous types, buckle up in your living room couch seats together (but also separately in your own homes) and put these theme park videos on the share screen. You can even make the experience more real and fully get into it by screaming during drops.
4. Watch line dance instructional videos. If you two end up becoming an item, they’ll likely be your plus-one when everything opens back up, and all those eager couples who had to put their big wedding on hold start picking back up where they left off. Now you both can show up and show off by knowing how to participate in all the common dances like the electric slide and cupid shuffle. Once again, there are tons of video options on YouTube, including one by Jenny McClendon which teaches the steps to five common line dances. Learning together can be fun, and hey if you two really hit it off maybe you’ll get to put these moves to use one day at your own reception.
5. Watch a movie. Isn’t going to the movies something you probably would’ve done anyway if you could still go out? Well, now you can have a cinema experience at home through AMC Theatres On Demand or a Netflix watch party. Most people don’t even cozy up and hold hands on the first date anyway, so it’s not like the lack of physical proximity will make much of a difference.
6. Attend a virtual paint and sip. This one is for all the creative-minded daters out there. You can now participate in an interactive paint class from your home. All you have to do is book tickets online through Yaymaker and have the materials ready. After the event, you can continue to video chat with your date and compare what you both came up with. Maybe after quarantine is over you can exchange paintings with one another as gifts!
7. Have drinks. It’s BYOB obviously, but why drink alone in your home when you can connect with a match and get to know him better at the same time. A great way to learn more about him is through conversation starter questions- like the ones provided in Derrick Jaxn’s Mentally Stimulate Me card game. These cards are the gift that keeps on giving because once you have them you can re-use them with new dates until you find “The One.”
8. Learn a new language. Pick a language and add each other as friends on the Duolingo app. You can compete with one another on how many points you rack up each day or put your new skills to the test by trying to have a conversation using what you’re learning. Maybe you can both come out of this bilingual and take a trip to a country that speaks that language when travel resumes.
9. Tease him with a chair dance. If you really start to hit it off with someone and want to turn up the heat, sign up for a virtual chair fitness class with Michaela from Mi Fitness. Once you get a good routine figured out, invite your lucky guy to a steamy hot video chat session where you can show him your new moves. He’ll be ready to have his hands all over you once you two can get together in person.