#Online Dating

Lockdown dating is a self gratifying ritual that measures love while measuring distance. The online connection status replaces guarantees of romantic feelings, and verifying both body temperature and Wi-Fi strength becomes the hallmark of a date. A smile behind a mask is less romantic poetry and more health economics, and a passion that cannot be touched may be a manifestation of obsessive control. Sometimes a glitch on the screen mirrors a glitch in the heart, and buffering becomes a highlights reel of desire.

A video date is a ritual where two people send each other compressed images of their faces while subtly pretending they aren’t actually staring at their refrigerators just a few steps away. They cloak themselves in excessive lighting and background filters to feign connection despite the miles between them. Conversations are spiced by the natural pauses of audio lag, turning delay into an ersatz romance. Eventually, the silence across screens becomes the measuring stick of emotional distance, and every lover hides the fatigue of affection behind a weak signal excuse.