>>Sara Aridi, The New York Times Published: 09 May 2021 12:28 PM BdST Updated: 09 May 2021 12:28 PM BdST Boundaries. Meaningful connections. “Covid baggage.” Here’s what dating will look in a post-pandemic world. (Cécile Gariépy/The New York Times) Eons ago, romance often involved dinner and a movie, a few drinks in a crowded bar or a goodnight kiss — intimate experiences the pandemic abruptly replaced with social distancing, mask-wearing and the threat of catching a deadly disease. "); } Simply put, dating in 2020 was “really scary,” as Monica Zahl, a graduate student in Brooklyn, said recently. “There’s nothing less sexy than, like, risking your physical well-being.”