COVID: the worst time to be single

The year is 2120, Covid has been ongoing for a century now. You aren't allowed to leave your house.

The threat of catching a deadly virus has annihilated all typical dating norms. Gone are the days of one nightstands, meals out and activity dates. Instead, the options have dwindled down to walks through parks, maybe a hot chocolate if you’re lucky. Naturally, we have an innate biological drive to be connected with others- when we were cavemen, we needed others purely to survive. Furthermore, societal expectations suggest we are only whole when we meet our ‘other half’, so how are singles in 2020 expected to survive? We’ve been thrown in the deep end of isolation; the general population of singletons have begun pining for contact in, practically, any form. I know I can admit to this, even a hug with a friend has become something I look forward to.

That’s only if you’re choosing to follow the guidelines- what we should do, isn’t necessarily what we always do. There’s a lot of talk of the death of ‘hookup culture’, but university students are singlehandedly preventing that from happening. As a student myself, I’m well aware that once young adolescents are out of the constraints of their family homes, they’re far more likely to begin bending rules to appease their needs. Though, this has certainly lost the ease that it had in the pre-Covid world. Where previously you met at parties, events, gyms or other social activities, the only way now is through dating apps like Tinder and Hinge. As a result, for young-adults, hookup culture is more prevalent than ever, and dates are practically nonexistent. In addition, ghosting and slowly-fading is the route to rejection!

All of that said, I get it- it’s nice to at least have someone to message when there’s nothing else to occupy your mind. I’ve been accustomed to several background talking stages that allow for just a little bit of effort- maybe a thirst trap here or there (I know you’ve done it too).

I am one of the first people to label the benefits of being single- even in these particularly harrowing times. Usually, my mind would zone in on the years of travelling I have ahead of me without the hassles of a relationship holding me in the UK, but it’s not as easy as that anymore. For those feeling the loneliness creep in a little bit more, I thought it a good idea to discuss some of the benefits.

Yes, you may feel that you’re missing deeper connections with people, however, this is the ideal time to be more introspective. What is it you feel like you’re missing? How can you alter that perspective? Could you develop hobbies to fill up your time? At the beginning of the first lockdown, karma was against me and I found myself single. After three months of wandering around trying to find ways to fill the abundance of hours before me, I realised this is the perfect time to grow my personal capital. I started learning Spanish; properly dedicating time to exercise; I applied for internships and, I started Mellow Magazine of course! If you’re already occupied with work or personal interests, use this time to evaluate your internal self: do you actually need to be with someone? Or are you just not okay alone? Do you work hard enough for your goals? Do you even have goals? Currently, there is no one to spend your time thinking about, so use this time to think about you! You’ve been given an advantage, for God’s sake!

Another advantage? You can take this time to figure out what you want and don’t want in a person. My housemate and I regularly update each other on revelation’s we’ve had regarding future partners- “I don’t want someone who’s restricted in location.” “Well, I don’t want someone who lacks ambition!” Not only this, you can figure out how you need to grow going forwards, maybe you’re a little bit possessive? Or perhaps you need to prioritise your friends and family more.

On that note, here’s another benefit- you can spend time with friends and family. I’ve come to accept I’d been putting my family at the bottom of my list since probably 2018. When it came around to the first lockdown, I could barely see anyone but my family. Come the third lockdown, I relish in their company. That being said, the opportunity to even go on a walk with a friend now entirely changes my day to become a great one.

The beauty of being single is that you’re entirely liberated, so take advantage of that. If you’re interested in getting back into the dating pool, then statistics shows this is supposedly a great time. More people want to settle down and are tired of game playing. Two out of three Hinge users want to adapt the way they date, to be more mature. That’s a sign if any, to consider taking things more seriously. Furthermore, singles are now surer than ever of what they want, so they’re practically jumping at the bit.