Love in the time of COVID: Dating apps are thriving - Marketplace

Love in the time of COVID: Dating apps are thriving - Marketplace
Move over, collards; make room for sauerkraut. Black Marylanders have made the German specialty their own. - Baltimore Sun
Black Friday Tour Sale: Buy One Get One Free - Untapped New York - Untapped New York

Posted: 24 Nov 2020 04:17 PM PST

As the weather gets colder, and COVID-19 infection rates rise, Americans are heading indoors, isolating again and … going online to date.

Some predicted that online dating would take a hit from the pandemic. After all, who wants to risk infection by meeting with strangers?

People like 38-year-old Jen Filz, who started doing the online dating thing for the first time in March, as Milwaukee locked down. "I'm a very social person," explained Filz. "So it was really hard for me to suddenly go from going out and talking to random people to having absolutely no interaction with anyone." Filz has joined Hinge, Tinder, Bumble and Facebook Dating.

She's part of a trend. Dating app usage is growing during the pandemic. According to data company Apptopia, the top 20 apps have gained 1.5 million daily active users this year.

Jonathan Kay, the founder of Apptopia, said it's not just the big brand names in online dating that are growing. "We're starting to see like a bunch of niche dating apps pop up as well, which I think are actually taking some market share away from larger players," he said.

Apps like BLK for Black singles and Chispa for Latinx people.

It is, of course, that time of year known as "cuffing season": when you wanna be tied to one person, because it's getting colder, the holidays are approaching, and your nosy aunt is definitely going to ask if you're dating someone.

But analyst Ali Mogharabi at Morningstar said it's not just that. "You've got singles sitting at home wanting that interaction, a lot of them basically began using online dating apps even more," Mogharabi said.

There are also signs hookup culture could be waning in the era of COVID-19, with infection a constant concern. Jen Filz of Milwaukee said she's definitely noticed that "there's a lot more like, 'Hey lets try to like Zoom date or whatever else before we actually meet.'"

At least for the time being, her dates are exclusively on Zoom.

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Victorian Flatbush Tour

Japanese House in Flatbush Discover the spectacular mansions and history of this unique Brooklyn neighborhood. Flatbush is a neighborhood that best encapsulates the full history of Brooklyn — from its 17th-century Dutch colonial history to the 20th century. Untapped New York tour guide Jeremy Wilcox will explore this progression and show you how centuries of history are preserved within a small area. You will also see part of Flatbush's greatest treasure: its spectacular mansions (including the Japanese House) developed at the end of the 19th-century by developers looking to break away from the Brooklyn brownstone mold. Several small historic districts, mansions, and church grounds dating back to 1654 are some of the highlights you will see on this unique tour.

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Greenwich Village Coffee Tour

Discover the surprising history of coffee in New York City while exploring Greenwich Village, its iconic birthplace. On this unique walking tour we will learn how New York and coffee go hand-in-hand both in cultural and economic development. In between sampling coffee at some of the retailers that popularized America's favorite beverage, you'll get a crash course in coffee history from its ancient discovery in Africa to its sustainable farming movements of the past few years. By the end of this experience you will have tasted: an espresso, a drip coffee, chocolate covered coffee beans and a cappuccino… so you will be caffeinated!

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Hidden Gems of the Financial District

Acre for acre there is more history in FiDi than anywhere else in the country and most of is buried under strata of infrastructure or hidden in plain sight. On this tour you will discover Wall Street's turbulent history still visible today, trace the nearly hidden footprint of an old Dutch wall, see exactly where Washington stood when he was inaugurated, decode the most cryptic gravestone in Trinity Churchyard, pay a visit to Alexander Hamilton and his wife, touch one of the oldest standing structures in lower Manhattan, unearth a chunk of the old 18th century Battery wall buried in the subway system, step into a 19th century candy store hidden in the basement of an office building, and discover the site of NYC's long-standing slave market.

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Secrets of Grand Central Tour

Grand Central terminal main atrium Did you know there is a hidden tennis court inside Grand Central Terminal? Or that its ceiling is backwards? On this unique walking tour you will discover the origins and history of the Beaux Arts train station, from its glittering glory days to disrepair and modern quests to save it. Whether you pass through it every day on your morning commute or stroll through the Grand Central for the first time, you are sure to leave having learned, seen, and experienced something new and extraordinary. This tour of Grand Central Terminal is great for history or architecture buffs alike.

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Remnants of Dutch New Amsterdam

Discover the many hidden Dutch relics south of Wall Street, as you trace the streets of Manhattan in 1667, where New York began. In this small group walking tour, you'll hear about New York's founding myths and facts while standing in the very spots where they all happened.

Physically touch history as you spend time finding out how Bowling Green got its name and why it's been so important in our city's history! Among the many relics you will experience on this tour are the foundations of New York City's first City Hall (which was also a tavern!), the long forgotten oyster pasty cannon, the original battery wall and so much more! This New Amsterdam tour is led by an expert guide from the Untapped New York team.

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Remnants of the World's Fairs

Didn't make it to the 1939/40 or 1963/64 World's Fairs? Well here's your chance! Explore the many remnants of the World's Fairs in today's Flushing Meadows-Corona Park including time capsules, Andy Warhol mosaics and more! Flushing Meadows-Corona Park has lived many lives from marshy tidal wetlands to an early 20th Century ash dump, to the site of not one, but two World's Fairs. This Flushing Meadows tour explores the past, present, and future of this 900-acre park which was an obsession of the late "Master Builder," Robert Moses. Join Untapped New York's Chief Experience Officer Justin Rivers as he leads you on a journey through Flushing Meadows' many unnoticed treasures.

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Hidden Gems of Central Park's North End

The North End of Central Park has a mystique all its own because it's so far removed from the more heavily-visited southern sections of the park. Join us on a walk through woods reminiscent of the Adirondacks and discover how this landscape was shaped by the geology of the area. Locate where encampments from two wars were situated and, during a third, the site of the former convent where injured soldiers were treated. We will learn about the surprising history of the Block House, a War of 1812 Fort predating the Park. Also discover a remnant from one of the grandest mansions to have ever existed in New York City which leads into the spectacular Conservatory Garden which we will explore as well. The beauty and unusual history of Central Park's North End make it a truly singular place to visit!

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See our entire list of public tours here!

Untapped New York is also offering a special Black Friday sign-up deal for new Untapped New York Insiders! When you sign up to become an Untapped New York Insider between now and Cyber Monday, you will get a free copy of the book Secret Brooklyn by our founder Michelle Young and Untapped New York's CEO Augustin Pasquet! Use code JOINUS for two months free!

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Please note that this Black Friday discount does not apply to affiliate tours such as Classic Harbor Line cruises.

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