Page 58 - AVN December 2020

and it keeps climbing. “People want to be connected,
and dating virtually offers a way to do this,” she says.
“We’ve added 20-plus questions related to dating
digitally to act as filters, so you don’t match up with
someone you have nothing in common with, politically
for instance.” r just as bad, meeting someone in a
religious cult, who is a “born-again virgin.”
According to Hobley, a quarter of upid users
have been on a virtual date during quarantine, which
represents a 700-percent increase over pre-quarantine
statistics. They’ve also collected data on the types of
virtual dates people prefer: 33 percent said “keeping it
simple with a video chat,” 30 percent said “some kind
of shared activity, like a game,” 23 percent said virtual
“dinner and drinks,” and 1 percent said “watching a
movie or TV show” together. According to 3 percent
of respondents, virtual dates involve “less pressure than
an in-person date.”
And here’s a date for dating during pandemic mask
wearing. y single cousin met a masked girl at the
grocery store, who he thought was funny and had
beautiful eyes. They talked on the phone for two hours,
then arranged to meet and check each other out by
lifting up their masks. ut when she took hers off, she
had big ’ol teeth and a tiny mouth. Not to be superficial
or anything, but you have to see the mouth you’re going
to be kissing first. What’s under the mask is the new
dating dilemma.
ut there is an upside to stay-at-home virtual
dating. eople report that they’re enjoying real
conversations for once. Singles are talking to more
people via oom first before committing to an awkward
in-person meeting with someone they know within five
minutes they can’t stand.
MARRIED BUT DATING DURING THE PANDEMIC
Ashley adison, the dating site for mostly married
people looking to cheat with other married people, has
just published a study called “Love eyond Lockdown
A eport on Navigating arriage and Infidelity Through
a andemic and the New Normal.” The site’s slogan is
“Life is short, have an affair.”
“Through a series of anonymous members surveys,
Ashley adison set out to learn more about married
5 8 A V N . C O M | 1 2 . 2 0 | S E X P L O R A T I O N S
life during lockdown and why many married people are
choosing to carry out new and existing extramarital
affairs while at home with their spouse,” the study says.
“The study addresses several topics, including sex,
increased stress, divorce, dating during a pandemic,
and the future of marriage and monogamy.”
The study concluded with five key findings
”Lack of sexual initiation is the primary complaint
of married people during lockdown, thus many aren’t
having sex.”
”eople don’t look to their partner in times of
uncertainty and stress, they look outside their partner.”
”The pandemic has not decreased the desire or ability
to cheat in fact, it has fueled it.”
”With the bulk of time now spent at home, married
people having affairs deem their infidelity as a way for
them to stay married.”
”Decreased socialization is calling into question the
role of the primary partner as the sole confidant, friend,
lover, and source of peace. The pandemic has changed
the way we interact with others and has made us diligent
about who we socialize with. For married people who
have come to realize they can’t depend on their spouse
for everything, it’s a way to have their various needs met.”
The study was culled from six smaller studies that
totaled more than 10,200 members. According to Dr.
Tammy Nelson, a spokesperson for Ashley adison and
the author of When You’re The ne Who heats, “The
pandemic and new practice of selective socialization may
pave the way for new conversations about monogamy
and which desires cannot be completely fulfilled by the
spouse.
reating monogamy agreements that are not as
traditional or conservative as they have been in the past
could work for many couples who consider themselves
primary to one another, but crave something more.
A more open monogamy might include other sexual
partners. The future of marriage may be more uid after
a 2 lockdown.”
In the swinging 160’s having sex with each other’s
husbands and wives was affectionately known as “wife
swapping.” Today, with both married men and women
“trying out” other people’s spouses, I like to think of it
as “wife tasting.”