No kissing, sex or food on first date — survey shows how pandemic changed dating in India

According to survey by SeekingArrangement, while 85% respondents were willing to go on in-person first dates, 75% did not want to kiss or have sex.

Representational image| Photo: Santeri Viinamäki | Commons

New Delhi: The coronavirus pandemic has altered dating in India to a great extent, with 75 per cent people revealing that they were not interested in sharing a kiss or having sex on the first date, a new survey has found.

The survey by SeekingArrangements — the world’s largest sugar dating site — also noted that 70 per cent of the respondents were not comfortable sharing food on dates while only 25 per cent were keen on holding hands.

However, 85 per cent of the total people who participated in the survey were willing to go on a date in-person with someone they don’t know.

The respondents were also slightly less rigid when it came to hugging, with 45 per cent respondents stating that they were open to hugging on a first date even during the pandemic, as they were in the year 2019.

‘People willing to meet new people due to loneliness’

Annette Joseph, a spokesperson for the app, told ThePrint that the reason why more number of people are willing to go out and meet someone during the first time could be related to the prolonged feeling of loneliness.

“Due to the conditions of working from home, people are willing to meet new people even during the pandemic. I know many cases when people who have never been onto dates have started giving it a shot,” she said.

“The same survey was done in countries like US, Indonesia, Malaysia etc and the figures are pretty much the same, However, it is evident that people are willing to take the risk of meeting someone new, but are still concerned about hygiene and safety,” added Joseph.

According Brandon Wade, CEO of SeekingArrangement, “The pandemic has forced us all to cope with change. From having to adhere to physical and social distancing measures, to fervently keeping hygiene levels at an all-time and high and wearing masks, the new normal has undeniably altered how we act and perform our daily routines.

“It’s understandable why people should be more vigilant in the name of safeguarding their health,” he added.

The survey was published Thursday and a total of 15,712 people participated in the it. Of these, 59 per cent respondents were female and 41 per cent were male.