Items

• 
  2020-12-11

  Bumble's "First Moves Forever" Campaign

  As I sat scrolling through Snapchat one day, I was presented with an advertisement. At first I skipped, however, when I saw the Bumble logo, I immediately went back to look at it. Sure enough, I had stumbled upon a perfect addition to this mini collection that I am putting together about dating during the pandemic. The ad was for the Bumble campaign “First Moves Forever” (https://thebeehive.bumble.com/firstmovesforever) which recaps how Bumble was used in 2020, and shares the stories of some users in an interactive way. This website may interest future historians, as it shares the stories of real individuals in relationships, and tells how social media/dating apps were used during the Covid-19 pandemic. It also gives another look into the ways that brands are now using the pandemic as a way of advertising.
• 
  2020-12-13

  How Does A Pandemic Help One Explore Sexuality?

  In about September or October, I remember my friend reaching out to our group chat about how she was questioning her sexuality. This questioning soon led her to the realization that though she had identified as straight her whole life, she felt that the label of bisexual fit her better. Next thing I knew, she was dating a girl. When I decided to seek out material related to the expression of sexuality during the pandemic, I knew immediately that I wanted to dive deeper into her story and see if the pandemic had anything to do with the situation. One of the biggest issues I had with this interview was making sure that I was not overstepping any boundaries and getting too personal, going back to the ethical responsibility that historians/archivists have to respect the privacy of those who are aiding in their contribution. However, I feel that not only did I find more out about the effects of the pandemic, rather, I found more out about my friend than I had expected to.
• 
  2020-12-08

  Six Foot Seating

  This photo shows a bench that is an advertisement for the dating app Bumble located in Boston’s Seaport district (exact location unknown). The bench has two seats, with space for social distancing between, which goes to show how far people are taking social distancing guidelines. Bumble makes use of participatory content here to engage the public to interact with their advertisements, which may lead to more interest in further interacting with the app. This object has the potential to interest future historians, as it shows how brands used the pandemic as ways of advertising. It also shows the ways in which not only we changed, but the physical objects around us changed to adapt to the pandemic.
• 2020-10-30

  Why My Friend Can't Get a Date

  My friend gave me permission to share a hilarious online dating experience he just had. Quotations are paraphrased. My friend Luke hops on Xbox and begins to tell me a story. He says, “I’m talking to this girl on Tinder for four hours. She then tells me, ‘I’m bored and I’m going to go read a book’ at 1:30 in the morning! I just laugh it off and ask if she wants to get together at some point the next day. She then tells me, ‘sorry, but my parents won’t let me go out because of COVID.’ She’s 24! She is 24 years old and she’s acting like her mom just grounded her.” I respond by telling him, “bro, she totally just curved you. She also told you she’d rather read a book than text you!” He then replies, “I know that, but if you’re 24 and can’t come up with a better excuse than ‘I’m grounded,’ you don’t belong on Tinder!” This funny story makes one ponder how many other things people use COVID-19 as an excuse to dodge and avoid.
• 
  2020-09-11

  Dating and Covid

  This is an article that discusses steps to take while dating someone new during the Covid-19 pandemic.
• 
  2020-07-18

  Dating During A Pandemic

  For someone who is single, dating is a huge part of life and socialization. The COVID-19 pandemic has placed huge strain on this, begging the question, is it safe to date? First and foremost, the best advice is to do what is best for you, while taking into account the health and safety of others. If you are interested in dating during the pandemic, take the other person into account and see what they are most comfortable with. This could be as simple as wearing a mask if going out or having a date over zoom. The same ideology should be used when deciding on whether to be inanimate or not. Being safe is key, meaning dating in a pandemic is not impossible.
• 2020-08-28

  A Love Story Made Possible by Covid-19

  Right as Covid-19 had seriously begun to hit the world in March of 2020 and was deemed a global pandemic, I had my heart broken by my boyfriend of a year and a half. I was not able to recover from the relationship like most people typically would by going out with friends and partying because of the lockdown. I was left all by myself. With no siblings, no friends in my area and a very small family, I had to find other ways in which to communicate with others so that I wouldn't lose my mind. In July of 2020, I joined Bumble and decided to get back in the dating game, that's when I met Jacob. Jacob and I matched because he was on vacation in Florida, however, we matched and began talking on the day that he was flying back to his home in Houston, Texas. We kept in contact though and were presented with our first Covid-related blessing: cheap plane tickets. As college students who are unable to afford most things, when we found out that a roundtrip from Houston to Florida only cost $58 we jumped on that opportunity. Jacob flew out to Florida so he could take me on our first official date, which went amazing. We continued talking when school started and that is when we realized we were presented with another Covid-19 related opportunity. Since all of my classes were online and airplane tickets were still cheap, I was able to fly out to Texas for a week and be with him. Although Covid-19 is a terrible and deadly disease, it has allowed me to find somebody that I can call my own, because without the pandemic we would not be able to afford to see each other nearly as regularly and my school schedule would not allow me to leave the state at random to be with him. love, oppurtunity, bumble app, happy, unexpected
• 
  2020-06-29

  Love and the Pandemic

  Trying to keep a relationship together-- let alone happy or healthy-- during this pandemic has been tough. I had to move out of my home and back in with my parents in March, and that meant my partner and I didn't get to see each other for almost six weeks, the longest we had ever been apart. We decided to move in together in May, even though we'd only been seriously dating for less than six months, and three of those months we had been separated due to COVID. Spending 24/7 with another human being, no matter how much you love that other human being, can also be an adventure, as toes are unavoidably stepped on. Still, most days I think we're doing pretty okay. One of the things my partner and I are doing to maintain a sense of normalcy is modifying our old hobby of playing Pokemon GO. Before the pandemic, we used pick a restaurant on Mill for dinner and then catch Pokemon in the surrounding area after. You would think that Pokemon GO would be safe to play right now-- because you can play outdoors and also it's easy to play while maintaining social distancing-- but we've actually really struggled to find places to play where people are wearing masks and respecting social distancing protocols. Mill Avenue, for example, is a literal cesspool with packed bars and no face masks in sight. At Kiwanis Park a few weeks ago, I heard a woman loudly complaining about having to wear a mask. Everything feels dangerous because it seems like people don't care if others get sick. Luckily, with some patience and persistence, we've found places to play that are both safe and allow us small moments of joy. Yesterday, we headed to ASU's campus, which has been mostly empty and requires face masks. We kept our masks on the whole time and saw less than five people. Normally, even picking up groceries from Fry's feels like a terrifying experience to me, and last night was probably the first time I've been out in this entire pandemic and not been paralyzed with fear the whole time. It was nice. Probably about as nice as things can be in a pandemic? I included this video from the end of our Pokemon adventure as we went back to the car. I like the video because it bears the obvious signs of Summer (sweat, traces of sunscreen smudges on my glasses, tank tops), the obvious signs of the pandemic (face masks, empty campus), and the obvious signs of two people dating (smiles, jokes, joy).
• 
  2020-06-04

  Couple Gets Engaged During North Carolina Protest

  The country had many protests in June. Some were violent, but most were peaceful. There has never been such a large civil rights movement in our history. One particularly touching story is the story of a man who admired his girlfriend's commitment and action so much, he knew that he wanted to marry her. I guess he was considering marriage because he happened to have a ring in his pocket. So he got down on one knee and asked the big question. She said yes behind her face mask. She is pregnant and they call their child "Baby Batman" and plan to marry in September 2021.
• 
  2020-03-22

  Rooftop Dating in Brooklyn

  This adorable young couple lived across the street from each other. He saw her dancing on her rooftop and wanted to meet her, so he sent his phone number over on his drone. They had a quarantine date via FaceTime (a video iphone app) and then met up for their first date while maintaining social distancing. He arrived in a giant hamster bubble with flowers!
• 
  2020-03-15

  "Welcome back to courtship, Brad."

  A tweet speculating as to how the pandemic and resulting restrictions may effect the online dating scene. It suggests it will slowing it back down since dates and physical relationships cannot be started as easily due to social distancing.
• 
  2020-05-01

  Sorry, Straight People: Lockdown Culture is Just Lesbian Culture

  An article on how elements of 'lockdown culture' are attitudes and pasttimes commonly attributed to the lesbian experience.
• 
  2020-03-15

  Dating Apps

  Since people who were meeting on dating apps weren't meeting in person for a while due to the pandemic, the tweet jokes that there is more time to talk to each other
• 
  2020-10-14

  Kissing

  A photograph of two people attempting to show affection with masks on
• 
  2020-03-26

  Pick up lines during COVID-19

  Jokes Image of pick-up lines to used during the pandemic
• 
  2020-03-18

  Tweet by Kaitlyn McQuin: Social Distancing and Dudes on Dating Apps

  This tweet is a joke made at the expense of men on dating apps (like Hinge and Tinder) because of the messaging that takes place before meeting - and how much, much longer it will all take now.