How I Learned to Stop Hating Video Dating
Lots of things are bad right now. But dating in pajama pants is not one of them.
They say if you do something enough, you’re an expert at it, and I take a bit of pride in my mastery of first dates. Not that they are always good or that I always give or get a second, but I can feel people out fairly easily and adapt accordingly. I can read a room decently enough and come up with questions beyond the standard fare. Because my own fear of rejection makes it physically painful to see rejection in others, I laugh generously and appear interested (within reason). I know my way around a first date.
Enter the global pandemic. I’m staying home, as we all should, and video has become the way of the world. That includes dating. So last week, I scheduled my first video date. I’d matched with this man on the app I founded where friends swipe for friends. Not only was I excited to go out with someone from my own app; seven of my friends had matched me with him. There was a consensus that we were a good fit, and from what I could tell, I thought so too.
But before it started, my pre-date anxiety peaked like it hadn’t in years.
Video has always weirded me out. As a xennial, the concept of video as a kid was limited to playing around with my dad’s old…
