4. THE AFFORDANCES OF MOBILE DATING AS A FOCUS OF INQUIRY

While offering a mechanism for people to seek out sexual or emotional experiences and connections with others (both online and offline), such apps also produce various ‘institutionalised routines, habits and knowledge practices’ (Albury et al

Reconfigurations of intimacy also swiftly evolved and proliferated in online spaces after the outbreak of the pandemic-from increased chatting and emotional connection through mobile dating apps (Harris, 2020; Shaw, 2020) to sex parties via Zoom video technology, described in popular media articles (Katz, 2020; Parham, 2020; Power & Waling, 2020). The Instagram reality?TV?styled project is one example of a particularly creative way people have used social media to seek out connections with others. As a hybrid ‘dating service’/‘reality show’ that emerged during the early days of the global lockdown, it featured people of all ages and sexualities who virtually dated other ‘matches’, while other Instagram users followed their pre? and post?date video updates (Lorenz, 2020). Continue Reading