‘If COVID doesn’t take you out, can I?’: Pandemic pickup lines trended on Tinder this year
The pandemic didn’t stop single people from searching for their S.O. on Tinder this year. In fact, it has inspired them to up their little flirting game with extra creativity.
According to Tinder’s 2020 “Year in Swipe” report released on Dec. 7, members have been using pandemic-themed pickup lines to charm their prospects since late February. Since then, the trend has climbed to the dating app’s top 10 “essential trends” for the year.
These funny but well-thought-of catchphrases include the following:
If COVID doesn’t take you out, can I?
“Let’s be like COVID and catch each other.”
Wash your hand so you can hold mine.
“Quarantine & chill” has also been a common expression among users quarantining at home.
In addition to that, Tinder’s report stated that some love seekers tarted up their profiles with clever descriptions of themselves, such as the ones below.
Looking for a plus-one for my family Zoom calls.
“Looking for someone to pump up my heart rate so my glasses fog with my mask on.”
“A month ago I needed cuddles. But now I need sanitizer and face masks. Could you help me out?”
On the flip side, the user’s support for the Black Lives Matter movement landed the No. 1 spot on the app’s “essential trends” list. “Starting in June, Tinder quickly filled with bios that said things like: If you don’t support BLM, we aren’t gonna work,” the report said. Mentions of BLM grew 55 times in 2020.
Masks also saw a huge rise in popularity, with mentions up by 10 times this year. The result came from bios with content such as “Who’s down to meet in the park w masks on?” and “Masks on during sex.”
TikTok videos also became a popular conversation starter among users, as “TikTok mentions grew eight times in 2020 and peaked in May.”
Finally, matches who were afraid of catching the virus in the outside world turned to Animal Crossing for their dates and parties. Tinder explained, “Mentions of Animal Crossing peaked in May, during which members may have come across profiles such as: What if we met up to watch the sunset….on my animal crossing island. Not kidding.”
With all these trends, it goes to show that “in an unprecedented year, when faced with new obstacles, Tinder members adapted and got creative about how they connected.”
Tinder was introduced on a college campus in 2012. It is currently the world’s most popular dating app with 66 million users, of which 78,1% are men, and 21,9% are women. 30% of its users are married.
Watch this video to know what else trended on the app this year: