Love Lockdown: 1 in 5 Relationships are on the Rocks

• 64% of people admit to turning to online dating during lockdown
• 1 in 5 people admit that lockdown has caused problems within their relationship
• Hinge tops the list of dating apps singles have jumped on
• 1 in 3 people have received a text from their ex in lockdown
• In the last month there have been 680 searches for “do I love my boyfriend?” in comparison to 300 searches for “do I love my girlfriend?”

With lockdown being mandatory in many places across the world due to the Coronavirus pandemic, gone are the days where you could meet the love of your life on a night out. What’s the next best option? Dating apps! Since lockdown started in March there have been 340,000 global searches for dating appsisolation.

Interested in how lockdown is affecting people’s love lives, OnBuy.com surveyed 1,204 singletons as well as 1,492 people who are in lockdown with their partner all ranging from the ages 18-65.

64% of the singles surveyed admit that they have turned to dating apps to get them through the isolation period, the 5 main reasons being:

• They hope to meet the love of their life (33%)
• Boredom (28%)
• To test the waters (20%)
• Validation (10%)
• Loneliness (9%)

OnBuy found that the main reason people have taken to dating apps is in the hopes of meeting the love of their life (33%). This is followed by 28% of singles looking for a source of entertainment, which dating apps like Tinder, Hinge and Bumble just so happen to be the source of.

20% of singles have decided now is the best time to hop on dating apps as it’s now a judgement free zone with millions of singletons stuck at home and no other way of meeting potential love interests.

10% of respondents admit that the validation that comes with matching with people is the reason they’re back to using dating apps. Along with this, 9% admit to online dating in order to avoid loneliness.

It turns out feeling lonely during self-isolation is a common feeling, with 38% of respondents having received a text from an ex during lockdown. The main three reasons behind the text being:  to check in on them (45%), admit how much they miss them (32%), and “mistakenly text the wrong person” (22%).

The top 5 dating apps singles have turned to in this time of need are:

After finding success on dating apps, 41% of singletons surveyed have taken that first step to making it official by going on virtual dates. 62% have already made use of Facetime whilst 19% chose Zoom as their first date destination.

1 in 5 of those surveyed that are in a relationship and are self-isolating with a partner, admitted their relationship is on the rocks. 1 in 10 respondents have broken up during self-isolation, whereas almost half (47%) say that it has improved their relationship.

The 5 main reasons couples have argued whilst in lockdown are:

1. In each other’s space too much (62%)
2. Partner’s bad habits (58%)
3. Can’t agree on things (52%)
4. Lack of cleanliness (44%)
5. Spending habits (39%)

Everyone loves having their own personal space, including couples as 62% said being in each other’s space too much has led to them having arguments.

58% said their partners’ bad habits have been an issue during self-isolation, the top 3 bad habits being: not washing their dishes, using up all the hot water and snoring in bed.

According to google searches over the last few weeks in self-isolation, women seem to be more in question of their feelings in comparison to men.

OnBuy used ahrefs to analyse search volumes to get a better idea of how many relationships are struggling globally. They found that in the last month there have been 680 searches for “do I love my boyfriend?” in comparison to 300 searches for “do I love my girlfriend?”.

In the last month there have been 2,500 searches for “should I break up with my boyfriend?” and 2,600 searches for “should I break up with my girlfriend?” showing that men are slightly more so than women unsure about their relationship currently.

Being in each other’s space more frequently comes the opportunity to see what your partner does on their phone, and even snoop on it when they fall asleep. 1 in 4 of the partners surveyed admitted to going through their partner’s phone without them being aware. The apps people worry about their partner using the most are:

1. Instagram
2. Whatsapp
3. Twitter
4. Snapchat
5. Facebook

The two main reasons people worry about what their partner gets up to on social media platforms is because they can potentially get in contact with an ex again (71%) as well as finding new love interests online (59%).