Online dating during social isolation – Perspectives of singles from Poland and Brazil during the COVID-19 pandemic

This article is a report on quantitative research conducted as part of the project “Singles in Poland and Brazil during social isolation – an international study.” The study, which began in 2020, aimed to understand, from a gender perspective, how singles from Brazil and Poland experienced social isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic (hereinafter: COVID). Singles of both genders participated in the study. The study was exploratory, using quantitative strategies, including questionnaires as research tools. In this article, we present an analysis of selected issues concerning online dating during COVID among Poles and Brazilians, taking into account the frequency of dating, the main motivations of respondents and the experience of falling in love through online dating. The purpose of this text is to provide a general overview of online dating among singles, to present the characteristics of the study sample, and to present selected opinions of the men and women participating in the study on their participation in online dating during COVID. We were particularly interested in presenting differences in motivations for engaging in online dating activities and relating this to social and cultural models of femininity and masculinity.