Dating during the pandemic

Oh my gosh, it's so great to finally meet you. You too. You look so much taller than on Zoom. Stop, stop, stop. I hate this. What is this? How is this romance? This is devastating to me. I'm a 31-year-old single woman in Los Angeles with four cats who does not have $17,000 to freeze and store my eggs. I tried. Yeah, I'm so sorry. We're all booked up. Really? Yeah, coronavirus has sparked an egg freeze frenzy. My phone has not stopped ringing. This is real. You can Google it. COVID has just screwed dating. And look, I know it's not just singles hurting because every couple I know is fighting like crazy, but I don't care about them because they have love. You know, it was hard enough to figure out if someone was flirting with me in the before time. I'm so glad they found that vaccine. Can you pass me the wine? Yeah, sure. Oh my gosh, she's so obsessed with me. But now, now I have like no idea. The other day I was on a Zoom call with this guy and I totally thought we were vibing. Great. Well, all of a sudden the material is your way and you can let me know which one you want to move forward with. Sounds great. Well, it was nice meeting you. It was great meeting you too. Have a good one. Yeah. Oh my gosh, you guys. I had a meeting and I think we were vibing. Vibing like we're vibing or like like vibing? Vibing like like vibing. What's his full name? Charlie Baddington. I found his photo. He's so cute. So cute. He's married. No! Wait, I found his wedding video. Aww. Oh my God, he's so sweet. Oh my God, his father died last year in an accident. Oh my God, I'm so glad he didn't swear support during that trying time. Oh my God, his wife's brother's house was destroyed by a flood last month. Are they okay? They're okay. Oh, their first dance. Well, I'm so glad they have each other, you know? That happened. Exactly like that. With that speed. With those friends. That's my life now. And even if I do find someone who's like legit flirting with me back, dating in the pandemic comes with a whole new set of rules. This guy just asked me to go for a walk. Has he FaceTimed you? No. Have you known each other at least two weeks? No. Has he taken the pandemic seriously and been quarantining responsibly and gotten a negative COVID test? No. Then what the hell is he thinking? He clearly isn't. Right? What am I supposed to do? Just go outside and physically stand next to a stranger who I've never even had a Zoom happy hour with? Everyone knows you do a Zoom happy hour first. Maybe he wants to infect you. Maybe he's a serial killer hoping to use his asymptomatic status to kill as many people as legally possible. Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised. That's exactly what I'd do if I was a serial killer. Which, actually, I guess isn't that different from the before time in a way. Because now we have to treat meeting up like we could potentially die, but women have always kind of done that. Wish me luck! Did you share your location? Yes. Safe work? Sunny. Do you have your pepper spray? Strapped to my thigh. So much fun! I really hope this is the one. If you don't hear from me in two hours, call the cops. Okay. Everyone has to find whatever works for them. Personally, I stick to FaceTime dates. Have to know someone for at least two weeks. Know that they're taking quarantining seriously and are either in a similar isolation pod or alone. Even then, I very rarely choose to meet up with someone. Because, yes, right now our safety is threatened, but we're also incredibly lonely and our mental health is declining. So the compromise between physical safety and mental health is this very delicate dance. And I urge you to find what works for you that minimizes risk for yourself and others. I'm Anna Akana, and thank you to NordVPN for sponsoring today's video. I've talked before about how I use NordVPN, especially when I'm working in other countries and I can't access my favorite streaming platforms. But even though I'm not traveling right now, because the U.S. is a mess, wherever I am, security online is always a priority. NordVPN has double data encryption for increased anonymity. They have super fast servers, works on up to six devices simultaneously, and is super easy to use. If you ever have any issues, they have 24-7 customer support, which I have used before. Shout out to John for helping me get my Hulu in Canada. If you're on the fence, you can always try them out because they offer a 30-day money-back guarantee. Go to NordVPN.com slash Anna and use code Anna to get a huge discount off a two-year plan and an extra month for free. That's NordVPN.com slash Anna, or just click on the link in the description below. Bye.