Pandemic Partnering: COVID-19's Impact on College Students' Dating Practices

This thesis seeks to explore if and how college students' dating practices have changed amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Through eight focus group interviews (n=51), participants discussed their dating practices, use of online dating platforms, and navigation of health and safety protocols. A thematic analysis was used to identify and define major themes from the focus groups. Findings revealed four themes in how college students define dating, which were relational investment, exclusivity labels, dating progression, and the role of hookup culture. When addressing how the pandemic has changed the way college students date, six themes were identified: importance of communication, technology as a tool, impact of family, violating safety norms, negative affect expression, and gaining perspective. This thesis extends academic research on how dating is defined and how uncertainty in the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted dating practices of college students at a large U.S. university in the mid-Atlantic region.

Name thesis:degree_name

MACOM

Level thesis:degree_level

masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Communication

Department dc:contributor.department

Communication

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

2022

Author dc:creator

• Wanzer, Claire Victoria

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Logan, Nneka

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Smith, Stephanie A.
• Myers, Marcus Cayce

• Dating
• Online Dating
• COVID-19 Pandemic
• Uncertainty Reduction Theory Focus Groups
• Thematic Analysis

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

vt_gsexam:35061

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/110963