Dating was complicated enough as it is before social distancing came into play. While staying away from other people is a vital part of flattening the curve, so to speak, it’s also kinda lonely sometimes, especially if you were just getting to know someone new. But don’t give up on love just yet! You can still date while social distancing — you just have to get creative.
- Use your daily hour of exercise to go on a walk together. It’s 2020 — no one’s going to look at you weird if you’re using your government-allotted hour of daily exercise to go on a virtual walk with the person you’ve just started dating. Hit each other up on FaceTime and head outdoors. Getting a bit of fresh air together is definitely a bonding experience.
- Have a Zoom drinking party. You can’t head to your favorite local bar for cocktails but you can have a virtual drinking party via Zoom or another online video conferencing app. Mix up your favorite drinks and have your date do the same, then enjoy random date small talk and just relax. You can even get dressed up as if you were going out even though you’ve got nowhere to go.
- Watch a movie together. Thanks to services like Netflix Party and Scener, it’s possible to watch a synced up movie with the people we care about and chat about it in real-time. All you’ll need to do is install the extension, share the link, pick a movie, and get streaming. Pick a rom-com for something extra romantic.
- Cook together. In a perfect world, your date would be making you dinner (or vice versa). In the era of dating while social distancing, however, that’s not possible. That being said, you do both still have to eat, so why not pick a recipe you’d both enjoy and follow it together while on video chat? At the end of it, you can enjoy the same meal even though you’re in different places.
- Take a virtual tour. Social distancing sucks but it has brought about some pretty awesome opportunities to take a virtual tour of some pretty cool places. From World Heritage Sites to famous museums, you and your date can have a look around some sweet spots and talk about what you’re seeing.
- Play some board games online. There are online ways to play everything from Scrabble and chess to more modern games like Cards Against Humanity. If you’re competitive, be sure to keep your temper in check if you start losing, haha! Instead, just focus on having fun.
- Take a class together. Intelligence is sexy as hell. If you and your new dating partner are both into expanding your minds and worldview, why not take a free class online in a subject that interests you both? Not only will you learn something new but you’ll have tons to talk about as you dig deeper into the topic at hand.
Dating while social distancing isn’t easy and it’s not nearly as fun as being with the person you like face-to-face, but we have to do what we have to do for now. Give it a try – you might be pleasantly surprised.