Tinder turns ten this year. The star spoke to people about their experiences with online dating. This is the story of Lisa*, 24, who has been struggling with a serious illness since a Tinder date:
Since the Corona pandemic, there has been a date in Hamburg that every single person knows: the Alster walk. 7.4 kilometers provide a perfect basis for getting to know a person – their exciting sides, their annoying sides and red flags that can lead to an abrupt end of the date. Basically, if a date survives half the round, it’s really cool, from three quarters of the time you make an appointment for another meeting and the whole round only someone very special manages. In my case, that person was Kevin.
Like many of my friends, I downloaded Tinder for the first time in spring 2020. Because of Corona, it was suddenly impossible to make new acquaintances at the university or at house parties. The app therefore seemed to me to be a good opportunity to get to know new people in a playful way. For ten months I had some interesting conversations and dates. A lot has fizzled out. Shortly before Christmas Kevin wrote to me for the first time.
He immediately made an extremely likeable and cool impression on me. Kevin had long blond hair, worked behind the counter in a trendy bar and looked like the classic surfer dude from the hip Schanzenviertel. Through our trips abroad we found a direct connection to each other. On the first date we talked for hours about everything and didn’t even stop after a full round.
The second meeting started with a little walk again and ended at my house due to the winter cold and the hard lockdown. We ate pizza and drank cocktails. Eventually one thing led to another. In any case, a safety distance of 1.5 meters was not maintained. After he said goodbye, we wrote to each other on the S-Bahn on the way back. Suddenly not anymore in the next few days.
Being ghosted by Tinder acquaintances is not uncommon. I’d be lying if I said I’ve never broken off contact abruptly. But this time it was something different. We got along well, became close, even arranged further meetings. While I kept staring longingly at my display over the next few days and hoping for the redeeming push message, I began to feel worse not only emotionally but also physically. Finally, three days after our last encounter, I woke up with a sore throat, coughing, and lethargy. At breakfast my sense of smell said goodbye. At that point at the latest it dawned on me: My date infected me with Corona.
What followed were twelve long days of complete isolation. I tried to contact Kevin and confront him, he didn’t reply to any of my messages. I was alone with my anger, with my hatred and with my disappointment. Even after the isolation, I still struggled with the disease for a long time. I not only suffered from long-Covid symptoms but also from a deep fear of being infected again and endangering the risk patients in my family. After my vaccination in the summer, I met again for a walk for the first time. Nothing came of this story either. But a short time later I heard something from Kevin again. This time from the local news. There had been a devastating corona outbreak in his bar. “How fitting” I thought and deleted the app from my phone.
*Name changed by editors
Recorded by Julian Schmelmer
Wiebke was never ghosted, but she has had a few unpleasant dates. Over the course of two years, she met numerous men and experienced many things that she would rather not have experienced. Here is her story.
