疫情期间，“居家约会”需求暴增
旧金山湾区颁布执行“居家隔离令”一周后，有50个人首次登陆约会应用Coffee Meets Bagel视频聊天。人们在社交软件上结交新朋友，幸运的话还可以找到另一半。
在全球疫情大流行时期，与人面对面接触几乎成为不可能。一些线上约会者仍在继续寻找心仪对象，只不过现在主要通过视频聊天沟通，而不是线下见面。线上约会者要表现出更多创意，更有耐心，更健谈，现在这些方面更重要了。
28岁的贾丝明·埃利斯住在温哥华，她说自从疫情爆发以来，男士们线上约会水平有所提升。与新冠疫情发生之前相比，男士们对看起来合适的对象更加投入，更会营造浪漫氛围。“比如说这次我遇到的是个调音师，”当她谈到近期的一位视频聊天对象时说。“有天晚上他为我弹了钢琴。”
Coffee Meets Bagel通过视频会议软件Zoom举办了一场见面会。有位男士在见面会上还表示，下次约会的时候也许会为对方安排送餐，这样就可以跟约会对象一起”云晚餐”了。至于最后他做没做不太清楚。
无论是出于无聊孤单，还是因为闲暇时间更多，又或者是兼而有之，许多线上约会者表示使用交友应用的时间越来越多，不光为了找约会对象，更是为了摆脱孤独。“现在真的是没什么事可做，”纽约的贾思敏·肯尼迪说，她经常登录名叫Ship的约会应用。
疫情爆发后，Coffee Meets Bagel对1140名用户进行了一项调查，结果凸显了用户行为的一些变化。调查发现，39%的受访者计划给爱慕对象发更多信息，29%的受访者打算给对方打电话，还有28%的受访者表示会更经常视频聊天。
为了回应用户需求, Coffee Meets Bagel 推出了电话会议功能，被称作“咖啡谈话”，每周组织一到两次。参加者除了想找另一半的人，还有一位主持人，确保大家能顺利聊起来，也要确保过程中没有骚扰和裸露等违规行为。这么说可能为时尚早，但目前为止Coffee Meets Bagel 的聊天还没有遇到什么问题。“人们就是太渴望与他人联系了，” Coffee Meets Bagel联合首席执行官康达文说。“现在是特别需要‘跳出箱子’想问题的时期。要多想想我们能怎样帮助用户跟他人联系，避免感到孤单？”
一位33岁的旧金山用户称，因为在“居家隔离令”解除之前不能去酒吧和餐厅之类场所，她就利用Coffee Meets Bagel组织的小组视频电话来扩展社交圈。近期一次视频电话中，她交了两位新朋友。“之前我的日常生活就包括外出结交新朋友，”她谈起疫情爆发前自己的生活方式时表示。“新常态下要想见人，可能得发挥点创意。感谢能有这样一个方式可选。”
4月7日，约会服务应用Hinge推出了“居家约会”的新功能。如果用户准备好跟系统匹配的对象在应用之外聊天，或者视频聊天的话，可以在应用中确认。当双方都确认，就会收到通知然后约时间聊天。
上个月，网上约会服务提供商Match Group旗下的约会应用Plenty of Fish为用户提供了视频通话功能，用户也可以使用速配功能，跟潜在匹配对象视频聊天90秒。考虑到全球疫情蔓延，公司为用户免费开通了之前需要付费的服务项目，用户可以跟世界各地的用户连线，而不仅仅是本地用户，扩大了交友范围。
来自洛杉矶的丹尼尔27岁。在过去的几年中，丹尼尔用过Tinder、Hinge和Bumble等好几款约会应用。新冠疫情爆发以来，他说跟女士的匹配次数翻了十翻。虽然认识别人的机会多了，总是视频约会也很有挑战，而在此之前可以看看电影吃吃饭，分散一下彼此的注意力。“这种感觉之前没有过，”丹尼尔说。“我感觉自己很脆弱。”
等居家令解除，视频约会能否帮人们建立有意义的人际关系，现在还未可知。一方面，当约会者最终能面对面接触时，可以加深互相了解，然而另一方面，由于要等待数周或者数月，期间对彼此的兴趣可能会消失殆尽。（财富中文网）
译者：艾伦
审校：夏林
旧金山湾区颁布执行“居家隔离令”一周后，有50个人首次登陆约会应用Coffee Meets Bagel视频聊天。人们在社交软件上结交新朋友，幸运的话还可以找到另一半。
在全球疫情大流行时期，与人面对面接触几乎成为不可能。一些线上约会者仍在继续寻找心仪对象，只不过现在主要通过视频聊天沟通，而不是线下见面。线上约会者要表现出更多创意，更有耐心，更健谈，现在这些方面更重要了。
28岁的贾丝明·埃利斯住在温哥华，她说自从疫情爆发以来，男士们线上约会水平有所提升。与新冠疫情发生之前相比，男士们对看起来合适的对象更加投入，更会营造浪漫氛围。“比如说这次我遇到的是个调音师，”当她谈到近期的一位视频聊天对象时说。“有天晚上他为我弹了钢琴。”
Coffee Meets Bagel通过视频会议软件Zoom举办了一场见面会。有位男士在见面会上还表示，下次约会的时候也许会为对方安排送餐，这样就可以跟约会对象一起”云晚餐”了。至于最后他做没做不太清楚。
无论是出于无聊孤单，还是因为闲暇时间更多，又或者是兼而有之，许多线上约会者表示使用交友应用的时间越来越多，不光为了找约会对象，更是为了摆脱孤独。“现在真的是没什么事可做，”纽约的贾思敏·肯尼迪说，她经常登录名叫Ship的约会应用。
疫情爆发后，Coffee Meets Bagel对1140名用户进行了一项调查，结果凸显了用户行为的一些变化。调查发现，39%的受访者计划给爱慕对象发更多信息，29%的受访者打算给对方打电话，还有28%的受访者表示会更经常视频聊天。
为了回应用户需求, Coffee Meets Bagel 推出了电话会议功能，被称作“咖啡谈话”，每周组织一到两次。参加者除了想找另一半的人，还有一位主持人，确保大家能顺利聊起来，也要确保过程中没有骚扰和裸露等违规行为。这么说可能为时尚早，但目前为止Coffee Meets Bagel 的聊天还没有遇到什么问题。“人们就是太渴望与他人联系了，” Coffee Meets Bagel联合首席执行官康达文说。“现在是特别需要‘跳出箱子’想问题的时期。要多想想我们能怎样帮助用户跟他人联系，避免感到孤单？”
一位33岁的旧金山用户称，因为在“居家隔离令”解除之前不能去酒吧和餐厅之类场所，她就利用Coffee Meets Bagel组织的小组视频电话来扩展社交圈。近期一次视频电话中，她交了两位新朋友。“之前我的日常生活就包括外出结交新朋友，”她谈起疫情爆发前自己的生活方式时表示。“新常态下要想见人，可能得发挥点创意。感谢能有这样一个方式可选。”
4月7日，约会服务应用Hinge推出了“居家约会”的新功能。如果用户准备好跟系统匹配的对象在应用之外聊天，或者视频聊天的话，可以在应用中确认。当双方都确认，就会收到通知然后约时间聊天。
上个月，网上约会服务提供商Match Group旗下的约会应用Plenty of Fish为用户提供了视频通话功能，用户也可以使用速配功能，跟潜在匹配对象视频聊天90秒。考虑到全球疫情蔓延，公司为用户免费开通了之前需要付费的服务项目，用户可以跟世界各地的用户连线，而不仅仅是本地用户，扩大了交友范围。
来自洛杉矶的丹尼尔27岁。在过去的几年中，丹尼尔用过Tinder、Hinge和Bumble等好几款约会应用。新冠疫情爆发以来，他说跟女士的匹配次数翻了十翻。虽然认识别人的机会多了，总是视频约会也很有挑战，而在此之前可以看看电影吃吃饭，分散一下彼此的注意力。“这种感觉之前没有过，”丹尼尔说。“我感觉自己很脆弱。”
等居家令解除，视频约会能否帮人们建立有意义的人际关系，现在还未可知。一方面，当约会者最终能面对面接触时，可以加深互相了解，然而另一方面，由于要等待数周或者数月，期间对彼此的兴趣可能会消失殆尽。（财富中文网）
译者：艾伦
审校：夏林
Fifty strangers who use online dating app Coffee Meets Bagel logged on to a video chat after the first week of “shelter-in-place” restrictions in the San Francisco Bay Area. They were there to meet new friends and, if lucky, find love.
During a global pandemic, in which meeting people in-person is challenging to nearly impossible, some online daters are continuing their search for romance, but through video chats instead of meeting in person. And they're having to be more creative, more patient, and better conversationalists—skills that weren’t previously as important.
Jasmyn Ellis, a 28-year-old Vancouver resident, said men have stepped up their game since the outbreak. Compared to before the coronavirus, suitors are seemingly more committed to their matches and are making more romantic gestures. “There was this one guy I met, and he’s a DJ,” she said, referring to a recent video date. “He played the piano for me one night.”
On the Coffee Meets Bagel meetup, conducted over video conferencing service Zoom, one male dater suggested to the group that he may send food delivery to his next date so they can virtually have dinner together. It's unclear whether he actually followed through with the plan.
Whether it’s due to boredom, loneliness, having more free time, or some combination of the three, many online daters say they're increasingly using their apps for a reprieve from solitude in addition to finding dates. “There’s really nothing else to do right now,” said Jasmine Kennedy, a New York resident who typically uses a dating app called Ship.
A survey by Coffee Meets Bagel of 1,140 of its users following the outbreak highlighted some of the changing behavior. It found that 39% of respondents planned to text their romantic matches more while 29% planned to call and 28% said they would video chat more.
In response, Coffee Meets Bagel in March introduced conference calls, now called Coffee Talks, and has hosted one or two every week since. In addition to would-be daters, the calls include a company moderator who’s there to get the conversation started and make sure there's no harassment or nudity. Though it's early, Coffee Meets Bagel hasn't had any problems during the calls. “People are just craving connection," said Dawoon Kang, co-CEO of Coffee Meets Bagel. "This actually is a time when it calls for an out-of-the-box approach. How do we help our users stay connected in times like this to make sure they don’t feel isolated?”
A 33-year-old San Francisco resident, who asked to remain anonymous for privacy reasons, uses the Coffee Meets Bagel group video calls to broaden her circle of friends, considering that she can't visit bars and restaurants until the city's shelter in place order is lifted. During the recent call, she made two new friends. “Part of my day-to-day is going out and meeting new people,” she said about her lifestyle before the outbreak. “The new normal may be finding creative ways to meet people. So I appreciated the option.”
On April 7, dating service Hinge introduced a new feature called Date from Home that lets users tell the app that they're ready to take their conversations with a match off the app and into a video call. If and when both daters select the option, they both receive a notification and can arrange to talk.
Last month, dating service Plenty of Fish, also owned by Match Group, gave users the ability to video call their matches or speed date with potential matches through 90-second video calls. In light of the pandemic, the company also made free a previous paid service that let users connect online with users worldwide instead only people in their areas, thereby expanding their pool of connections.
Daniel, a 27-year-old Los Angeles resident who didn't want his last name used for privacy, has used Tinder, Hinge, and Bumble over the past year. Since the coronavirus outbreak, he said his matches with women have increased 10-fold. And while he has more opportunity to meet others, he’s been more challenged to fill the video dates with conversation instead of relying on distractions like a movie or a meal. “This is a new thing for me,” Daniel said. “It makes me feel pretty vulnerable.”
It's unclear whether video dating will make meaningful in-person relationships more likely, if and when the shelter in place orders are lifted. On one hand, daters will know each other better when they finally get together in the same room, but on the other, they risk losing interest in each during the weeks or months of waiting for it to be possible.
