By Rachel Wolfe – June 9, 2020 for the Wall Street Journal
With in-person dating dubious, apps are offering safe, playful ways for matches to build a virtual relationship—from digital drawing games to shared cooking videos
BEFORE COVID-19, the biggest danger of a first date was the risk of rolling your eyes while your match droned on about parasailing or poker. Back then, the online-dating protocol was to move from a brief chat via the app to a date, even kissing, “as quickly as possible after mutually swiping right,” said Coffee Meets Bagel founder Dawoon Kang.
But now with no end to the pandemic in sight, dating-app creators are looking for ways to prolong safe virtual relationships for weeks, even months, stretching their roles from matchmakers…