Let’s talk (love) business
The Covid-19 pandemic triggers a dating app downloads boom
The times of romantic encounters and jittery first dates are over – dating apps now rule the love world! There is a general thought that within the next decade, the majority of people will meet their future partner online rather than in real life. Hence, only one question remains: are you gonna find ‘the one’ on Tinder, Bumble, Grindr or Hinge?
The switch from offline to online dating has been incredibly influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic. Isolation took away from love-searching individuals all the usual options of meeting people. According to the recent The Guardian article, there was a rise of 63% in the number of people downloading Hinge. The global lockdown also causes the change of priorities and reasoning behind opening an online dating account. The recent situation has left many people…lonely. Therefore, dating apps have welcomed many people looking for real love rather than just a ‘one-night stand’.
To what extent are couples who met on dating apps simply products of technology? Another The Guardian article highlights the fact how online dating apps transform meeting people into a virtual love business based on discussing the similarities of their future goals and mutual benefits resulting from the relationship. Simply, dating apps make it easier to tick-off all the check-list boxes.
How does the technological age change our perception of how to find true love? Are we now all reliant on dating algorithms to pick the right match for us? Can we still find love without swiping left and right? To explore such topics more in depth, we invite you to join us at the IMPAKT festival 2021 which will be dedicated to Modern Love!
This festival will investigate the societal patterns, challenges but also possibilities offered to us by the internet, social media, neo-liberal capital, globalisation and the Covid-19 pandemic as well. Is there a way out of the ‘cold intimacies’ brought by the digital revolution? Learn more through a rich programme of talks, panels, screenings, performances and an exhibition. The tickets will be available soon, so stay tuned!
The IMPAKT Festival 2021 Modern Love is curated by Katerina Gregos. She is the newly appointed artistic director of the EMST – the Museum of Contemporary Art in Athens. Katerina Gregos is a writer and curator who has worked as a curator at a number of major international biennials and organisations, including the 1st Riga Biennial and the critically acclaimed exhibition for the Danish Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennial.
Save the date:
IMPAKT Festival 2021: Modern Love
Different location in Utrecht and online
3-7 November 2021
Festival exhibition
At the IMPAKT [Centre for Media Culture]
3 November 2021 – 9 Januari 2022
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