
Elena Rollins found self clarity through the pandemic.
"Stay home if youโre sick, come over if youโre thickโ is a popular pandemic pick-up line. As dates grew risky, parties became infectious and bars closed, couples and singles were left to navigate this new labyrinth. Apps that were once a waste of time became the front lines for romantic encounters.
For some single people, dating during a pandemic is a nonstarter. Lauren Dulle, 20, left a relationship at the beginning of the pandemic, only to realize she was OK being single. โComing to college, especially as a freshman, youโre like, โOh my gosh, people meet their husbands in college,โโโ Dulle says. โNo, they donโt.โ
Brendan Durbin, 21, went on a few dates over the summer and tried every app he could find: Tinder, Grindr, Bumble and Hinge. The talking stage of meeting new people lasted a few weeks longer than usual, which led to an unfortunate downside: ghosting. โThere could be otherย options, or we just lose it because you didnโt get that in-person meet-up.โ
Hanna Watson, 21, says she started to find odd things attractive about people. She approached dating apps in phases: she would download as many as she could, put real effort into meeting people with the hopes of a socially distant date, grow tired of it, delete all of her accounts, rinse and repeat.
Elena Rollins, 21, had a self-described identity crisis when the pandemic began, breaking up with her boyfriend of three years and exploring her attraction to women. COVID safety became a decision factor in Rollinsโ potential matches. Rather than suggest a date, she would ask about how they were handling the pandemic and go from there.
In this together
For those in relationships, COVID-19 has served as a unique trial by fire. Anna Burturla, 20, and Kermit Kreder, 19, have been dating since September 2019. As their social circles grew smaller, they supported each other through the pandemicโs stress.
Some of this strength could come from an accelerated intimacy, where couples show each other more of themselves in a shorter period of time. Rollins jokes that with her current girlfriend, the pandemic normalized the stereotype of the โU-Haul lesbian,โ someone who is prepared to move in after the first or second date. โItโs, in a way, forced us to become very intimate very quickly,โ Rollins says. โSo thatโs definitely a positive outlook. I donโt think our relationship would be the same if weโd met during different circumstances.โ

Anna Burturla supported her partner, Kermit Kreder, when their social interactions declined during the pandemic.
Temporary connections
Despite the pandemic, hookups are still happening. โThereโs still people that are hooking up with people they donโt know really well,โ says Mary Martin, community health manager at Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services. Martin runs the clinic at the Family Health Center, which provides testing of sexually transmitted diseases. โThereโs still the amount of alcohol involved. Thereโs still the percentage of positive [STI] results. In fact, some of our STDs are ramped up to a point that surprises even us,โ she says. Martin says she has seen a major increase in positive gonorrhea and syphilis results.
Nicole Crespi, former coordinator for Sexual Health Advocate Peer Education, says there are benefits to pandemic hookup culture: Itโs a good time to grow confidence in asking the question, โWhen did you last get tested?โ whether asking about COVID-19 or an STI.
So, why do people continue to be sexually active given the health risks? As Tracey Bathe, Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services health educator, puts it: โWhen people are isolated, they want to feel something.โ
โPeople always want to be loved, and they want to be held,โ Martin says. โAnd I think for a certain amount of time post-COVID, theyโre going to want to be held a lot more.โ