Turbo relationships: How Covid sometimes plays Cupid
For a lot of formerly single people, this whole social-distancing thing is really working out, said Saba Hamedy in CNN .com. Though finding love when your state or city is shut down might seem impossible, “many dating experts say the pandemic has actually helped people find their matches more easily.” Yue Xu and Julie Krafchick, co-hosts of the popular Dateable podcast, say that people who have attempted virtual or even real-life dates in recent months are more focused and present than before. And importantly, new couples spend less time stuck in “relationship limbo,” with one or both parties afraid to fully commit. Now, says Krafchick, a “fail-fast mentality” has taken hold. “People are starting to feel it’s better to fail fast than be in this constant state of equilibrium,” she says. “Like, let’s either get it off the ground or end it.”
A recent study indicates that fast-tracked romance can work, said Korin Miller in Yahoo.com. “Turbo relationships” is the term being used in the U.K. for new couples who chose to move in together to ride out Covid-19 quarantining, and in a survey of more than 2,000 Brits, nearly 60 percent of those who’ve entered a turbo relationship say they feel even more committed and want to be with their new partner forever. A U.S. study, created by Monmouth University in early May, reported similarly happy results among couples generally, said Lisa Bonos in The Washington Post. Despite the stresses of the pandemic, 17 percent said their relationships had gotten a little or a lot better, compared with 5 percent that said their relationships had suffered. Three-quarters reported no real change.
Forced togetherness will break up some couples, whether old or new, said Ray Routhier in the Portland, Maine, Press Herald. After all, “it can be stressful being cooped up with the same person day after day, with nowhere to go.” Some marriage counselors are predicting a spike in divorce proceedings once the country fully reopens. Still, it makes sense that many people who gambled on a new relationship are happy they did, said Ashley Fetters in TheAtlantic.com, because “the first few weeks or months of a dating relationship are typically considered to be some of the most magical,” as physical intimacy creates emotional intimacy. Too often, apparently, couples waste that period of infatuation, said Paisley Gilmour in Cosmopolitan.com. As relationship counselor Peter Saddington says, that initial thrill “is normally watered down by the fact that you’re seeing friends or you’ve got to go to work and can’t see each other all day every day. Whereas actually, now you’re not only infatuated or really intent on the other person but you’re with them 24/7.”