CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- Dating during the coronavirus pandemic seems to be evolving like everything else, and a Chicago-based dating guru has been busy helping people navigate the new world.
"Forty-eight percent of American adults are single - 118-million – and at this time it can be exceedingly lonely for people. We’re going on week five, week six,” said Bela Gandhi, founder of the Smart Dating Academy.
Dating site activity is way up, she said, and dating app activity.
“So if you’ve been thinking about dipping your toe back in the pool it is a pretty good time to do it right now, lots of fish in the sea," Gandhi said. “Most people aren’t breaking the rules right now, because it would be meeting a stranger, and so that doesn’t make most people comfortable.”
Gandhi said it’s a three-step process, first people are chatting online or on apps, then on the phone, and then a virtual date, on Skype, Zoom, or FaceTime.
“First you’re messaging on apps, and if the messaging works, good, I recommend they hop on a quick phone call just to make sure that the person seems savory – I would say crazy people can’t keep crazy in the closet for more than ten minutes – so have a quick phone call and then if the phone call goes well then schedule a Zoom date of a Skype date or a FaceTime date after that," she said. “We’re giving very specific tips on how to have video dates, how to have good lighting, how to look good, the kinds of questions to ask."
She’s been giving advice during free Instagram Live sessions and said viewership has increased five-fold in the past couple weeks.
Gandhi believes video dating is here to stay.
“The world is changing and who knows what’s going to happen in the next three to six months. I think there’s going to be some shift and I think that video dating is going to have somewhat of a permanent spot in what we view going forward," she said.
To learn more, visit smartdatingacademy.com.