CALGARY – A recent first date held over Zoom allowed Olivia Pepta, 28, to see the warning signs and troubling behaviours of her potential suitor without risking infection.
With the whole nation under safer-at-home orders, many lonely hearts are going on virtual first dates, using Zoom or Google Hangouts.
“Some things are different now, like the first red flag used to be someone being rude to a server, whereas now it’s a Scarface poster in the background. Or instead of a guy smelling bad, it’s just that he really looks like he smells bad,” said Pepta.
“But you still get some of the classics like ‘you’re really smart for a girl,” and ‘you’re not one of those feminists are you’, just with a slight delay,” Pepta added.
Olivia’s date reportedly threw up numerous warning signs, including: not bothering to clean even the 3 square feet that were visible on camera; making repeated hacky jokes about ‘bringing her back to his place’; playing Fortnite during the date; and mentioning the private high school he went to a dozen times.
Perhaps the most troubling red flag was when she realized he wasn’t quarantining with his mother to take care of her, but rather so he wouldn’t have to cook.
“Just because it’s a pandemic doesn’t mean you shouldn’t put yourself out there to be constantly disappointed in men. And now I can get out of a date by saying my internet has crashed. Before I had to fake a sick pet or a ‘work thing’,” stated Pepta. “I find myself going on more second dates. It’s not because first dates are any better, I just have a lot more time to fill.”
Since the introduction of safer at home rules dating apps like Hinge and tinder have seen an increase in use, though both services have been dwarfed in popularity by ‘sending your ex sad texts at 3 in the morning’.
