My therapist was talking about a game. Seated on the plush cream sofa in her office, eyes damp and stinging, I didn’t get what her gaming hobby had to do with me.
“You see, Courtney, I enjoy playing and talking to the people I game with, but when it’s over, I can put it away and not let it affect my life,” she said. “Because the world I enter when I game, it isn’t real.”
There it was.
Unlike my therapist, I’m not a gamer … per se. Depending on how you look at it, the game I play is far more treacherous: I use dating apps.
I am what you’d call a veteran of online dating. I signed up to OkCupid, swiped on Tinder, messaged on Bumble, made prompts on Hinge, flirted with Feeld and was even accepted by the celeb-favourite and exclusive Raya. The online dating boom coincided with my graduation from high school and relocation to the city, meaning the vast majority of my love life has played out digitally. I eventually got bored of the traditional dating app options and discovered that platforms such as Instagram were also potential avenues for romantic connection.
None of this is revelatory; Meg and Tom were falling in love over email in 1998, catfishing was a phenomenon worth its own television show in 2012, and a 2019 Stanford study confirmed online dating is now the most popular way people find partners. But 2020 took our reliance on digital forms of connection to a whole new level, as we were forced inside and starved of real-life social interaction. In December, Hinge reported that since the pandemic took hold, one in three users have felt a greater sense of urgency about finding someone.
Denne historien er fra March 2021-utgaven av Marie Claire Australia.
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Denne historien er fra March 2021-utgaven av Marie Claire Australia.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
SHANNEN DOHERTY
The rebellious actor died in July after a nine-year battle with cancer. Zara Wong looks back at the legacy of a woman who always lived on her own terms
IN THE WILDS OF ALASKA
Nature served up a spectacular array of delights, while cruising the majestic waters of the far north.
Back to EARTH
In its earliest days, the farm bred draught horses for export. Now Tasmania's 1840 cottage Leighton House has been restored as a glorious getaway
ODE to LIGHT
Created by master perfumer Francis Kurkdjian in 2011, Elie Saab's Le Parfum has since gained a cult following and become an industry icon. Here, Sally Hunwick uncovers the origins of the stunning chypre floral scent
JEN ATKIN
The Ouai beauty guru is regularly called on by the Kardashians and a host of other A-listers. Here, she talks about hair, her beauty cupboard and how she keeps up her energy levels
A NEW DIRECTION
When she was 16, Jordan Lambropoulos told her surgeon she'd rather die than wake up with a colostomy bag. Today - 10 years, countless operations and 14,000 Instagram followers later - she's proof that a colostomy bag is not the end. In fact, it can be the beginning of a whole new life
LADY LUCK
Rosalía takes her accessories as seriously as she takes her art. The Spanish musician spent three years working on her much-lauded album Motomami, finessing the details and perfecting the finishing touches. And when it comes to her outfits, she's no less specific
Wait... superhero movies are cool now?
Who had Emma Corrin and Juno Temple as supervillians on their 2024 bingo card?
CURTAIN CALLING
Brisbane-born star Vidya Makan steps into the shoes of America's founding mother in the long-awaited return of Hamilton
LEIGH-ANNE
The English singer on colourism, freedom and reuniting Little Mix
