Technical.ly On the Record: What’s virtual dating like during a pandemic?

Is dating worth it right now? To those looking for love — but also looking to, you know, limit exposure to a raging coronavirus — the answer isn’t as simple as a swipe.

In the fourth episode of Technical.ly On the Record, our new interview series taking you inside the reporter’s virtual notebook to explore local economies in change, this editor chatted with Technical.ly Philly reporter Paige Gross about her recent trend piece about virtual pandemic dating.

Gross interviewed a handful of local folks who have taken to apps to connect with potential love interests (and dropped in tidbits about her own experience navigating the virtual dating world) as well as people who are relying on technology to stay close to their long-distance partners.

The consensus? Anxiety squared. It’s a weird time to be getting to know someone new at all, given that we’re not supposed to be mingling with strangers. Therefore, there’s added pressure on the virtual exchange: That cutie you’re talking to on Hinge better seem extra awesome to be worth the trouble you’d go to for meeting them IRL.

Listen to our conversation below:

And watch it here:

Reminder that in Technical.ly On the Record, you can expect to hear from at least one Technical.ly reporter per week, to get a quick rundown of all our markets’ biggest stories (aka the kicker), and to hear the why, how and what’s next of each featured topic.

In this episode, I also shouted out these big stories published in our other markets over the past week:

• Comcast protest for free internet access brings digital divide debate to the forefront (Philly)
• The story behind New Castle County’s masked vehicles (Delaware)
• PCs for People is refurbishing computers to provide tech access in Baltimore (Baltimore)
• This free training course aims to help unemployed Marylanders gain IT skills (D.C.)