RealMe Report Indicates Online Daters Lowered Standards During Covid-19 Quarantine

According to a recent report, social media users lowered their standards while using online dating sites. The study indicates that the loneliness inflicted by the Coronavirus quarantines drove many singles to seek partners more actively and openly.

The data comes from RealMe, an online security firm aiding dating apps, shopping sites, and home services. It claims the “swiping right is the new normal.”

While social media use and online dating saw a huge increase during the height of the Covid-19 panic, the isolation that caused the increases seemingly had farther reaching effects. The RealMe study suggests loneliness is a powerful motivating factor for online daters, with 67% saying they are “less okay” with living single during this time. A similar number at 64% said they were increasingly worried about locating a partner. They were not as picky with their potential matches in quarantine, feeling the need for companionship. 

Other results stated more than half of online daters will use dating apps more frequently “if social distancing stays in place for another few months.” Millennials were particularly onboard with that at 64%. More than 76% of want to invest more time in talking to a potential partner, while more than a third admit the lockdown persuaded them to have “more meaningful conversations,” even after the pandemic ends. 

Not surprisingly, Covid-19 forced 72% of online daters to have less physical contact when meeting a date in person, according to the RealMe results.

While the techniques for calculating more elaborate results were not made clear, RealMe reports “dating behaviors differ between personality traits, with specific profiles more inclined to display ‘red flag behaviors.’” The numbers say 69% of “less emotionally stable respondents” worried about finding a new partner. While the opposite might seem true due to the impersonal nature of social media, extraverts are reportedly more likely to spend increased time on dating apps over introverts. 

While the study was issued by RealMe, it was conducted by FTI Consulting. It involved more than 3,000 respondents in the U.S, distributed in age, gender, location and the 2016 Presidential vote.