Six out of ten singles now prefer to meet new people virtually — and make twice as many new friends through virtual events.

Findings from a nationwide survey of 1670 professionals, by events and friendship site Citysocializer, have revealed that, despite reports of ‘Zoom fatigue’, the majority of singles (61%) now prefer to meet new people virtually before meeting up in person, with eight out of ten say they would also like to see virtual events continue even once the pandemic is over.

While the primary reasons given for initially turning to virtual events to meet people were lockdown and social distancing concerns (60%), 40% percent of respondents said it was because they saw virtual events as being a more convenient (15%), less intimidating (11%) and cheaper (10%) way to meet new people.

More than two hundred thousand UK singles have connected with new friends through Citysocializer’s hosted events and online networking features since its launch in 2009, with many of these resulting in relationships and marriage.

As a result of the pandemic, the company quickly adapted from hosting real-world events and activities to virtual social events, fitness classes and learning workshops and today its UK users are participating in more than one hundred live, virtual events and activities a month to meet new people, keep fit and enjoy new activities and experiences from home with others.

Despite, at the start of the year, forecasting event bookings to decrease significantly through 2020, Citysocializer’s statistics instead show there was an almost 60% increase instead, with the average number of events being attended per person each month rising from two, pre-Covid, to six, and the average number of new friend connections per person doubling in this time.

To understand the reasons behind this growth, the company conducted a survey amongst users who had signed up to Citysocializer at least three months before the pandemic (pre-March 2020), and who had attended at least one virtual event within the last eight weeks.

Of the 1670 who responded, the majority (98%) said that they had not attended a virtual event to meet new people before the pandemic but that, once Covid was over, they would opt for virtual events (61%) as a starting point, over in-person events.

The benefits given of meeting new people through virtual events over real world events were: easier and more convenient way to meet new people (29%); Less intimidating (24%); Cheaper (17.5%); Meet more new people in one go (16%), Less time wasted on travelling to and from an event (16%) and Cheaper (12%).

Founder and CEO Sanchita Saha said:

“It’s crazy to think that twelve months ago the majority of us just did not see ourselves socialising virtually, let alone choosing virtual events as a way to meet new people. But without the baptism by fire that we’ve all been through, getting to grips with Zoom and other video technologies, we would have missed out on all the benefits that connecting virtually can bring.

This survey has highlighted how virtual events to meet new people are more than just a way for our users to stay social and connected through lockdown and so we will be factoring them into our long-term strategy.

And, because we know now that virtual events are a less intimidating way to meet new friends and result in twice the number of new friend connections, Zoom-ing to meet new people is the next “new normal” that we’re excited to pioneer.”