COVID-19: Reliance on Strong and Weak Ties in Dating
It is now commonplace to hear that job opportunities are more likely to stem from weak ties than from strong ties. [1] COVID-19 and nationwide quarantine orders are now shedding light on the shifting dynamic of ties in another industry: dating. More specifically, what ties were and will likely be important to meet one’s spouse. While the articles listed below do not discuss relationships in terms of ties, they can be used to better understand the network structure of couples and how it is changing due to COVID-19.
To provide some context of pre-COVID-19 dating, we can refer to ReportLinker’s 2017 survey. From the results, we can infer that roughly 11% of pre-COVID-19 individuals found love in the absence of ties (8% online/dating apps & 3% other). Thus, people depended on strong and weak ties 89% of the time to find a spouse. [2] 
These statistics are likely to change in response to COVID-19. More specifically, the dramatic uptick in isolation and the increase in the physical and emotional distance among strong ties is pushing individuals to search for potential spouses in areas likely void of ties, strong or weak: internet/dating apps. Dating platforms have seen a nationwide surge in general use and likely creation of ties. [2]
- Bumble saw a 20% increase and Hinge saw a 30% increase in messages sent in San Francisco, Seattle, and New York.
- Tinder saw its biggest day ever on March 29, with over 3 billion swipes in just one day.
- Tinder messages got 30% longer over quarantine
- OkCupid, virtual dates have gone up 700%
[3] Tying all of this back to what we’ve discussed in class, COVID-19 has increased the creation of edges in the absence of ties, strong or weak, when it comes to finding love. Quarantine and social distancing are causing networks to be more expansive and sparse, with fewer nodes connected within the network. Of course, this will not apply to all individuals or even all individuals that use dating sites. However, it will be interesting to see exactly how big of an impact COVID-19 has on dating and how this evolves over time.
[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/nextavenue/2016/08/17/to-get-a-job-use-your-weak-ties/#b1dc8c16b87d
[2] https://www.reportlinker.com/insight/finding-love-online.html
[3] https://www.businessinsider.com/dating-during-covid-19-according-to-three-experts-2020-6