Love isn’t the only thing in the air. As the pandemic continues into a second year, many Las Vegans have limited their social circles, which means singles are approaching dating far differently in 2021 than ever before.

With Valentine’s Day approaching, I hit Instagram to conduct some online local dating research. My question: Have you been online dating during the pandemic? I received 91 responses—38 reported that they had used dating apps during the past year; 53 responded said they had not.

Of the 38 who had been on apps like Tinder, Bumble and Hinge, experiences varied, though most reviews were far from positive.

“Toxic and not lasting,” wrote one Las Vegan. “Weird,” “annoying,” “bad,” “bleak,” “pointless” and “horrible,” echoed others. The few optimistic replies weren’t so much good as “not bad,” with one local reporting that online dating had consisted of “mostly light chatting, with some nudes exchanged.”

Based on my research, one theme synonymous with online dating apparently hasn’t changed at all: flakiness. “Lots of indecisive dudes who are super into it for a couple of weeks, then not,” wrote one woman. “A lot of awkward encounters because we’re all lonely and desperate,” explained another.

Despite such replies, it wasn’t all gloom and doom. Three respondents explained that while they’d dabbled with online dating during the pandemic, they’d actually met their current partner … in real life.

“I have been pretty reliant on dating apps since forever,” replied one man who recently found himself kindling a new romance with a longtime friend. “We ended up taking our friendship to the next level, and I haven’t been this happy in a couple years. I see a future with her.”

As for the dangers of dating mid-pandemic, “The conversation around meeting for the first time is not all that different than the conversation about sex,” one man joked. With the rise of the coronavirus, questions like, “Who have you been with?” “When was your last time?” and “Did you use protection?” aren’t just limited to STDs, he said. People want to know if the person they might meet is being COVID-safe.

Most polled users agreed that online dating wasn’t worth a potentially deadly infection, and that typing the line “If COVID doesn’t take you out, can I?” wasn’t a good look.

Several said that, as with dating IRL, patience remains the key to dating app success. “The first woman I met that was interested in meeting decided to video chat first, and I’m glad we did,” one Las Vegan explained. “She had been in town for two weeks organizing adult parties for high-price clients—she was an escort. She insisted she did not want to charge me for our date and basically just wanted to have sex, but I declined and moved on. Her life did seem pretty interesting from what she told me on our video chat. Hope she’s doing well.”

Later, that same man wound up on an actual date with someone else. “She was from New York and had a picture of her doing ribbon aerial acrobatics,” he says. “She picked sushi and sake, and we bonded over music and yoga to break the ice, but she talked a lot and only about herself, her nutrition degree and what I should or shouldn’t eat. It seemed to go on for a long time without me getting a word in, but the sushi was good, so I ate and let her talk.”

The date didn’t end well, he says. “I heard a red flag, and that was my time to leave. I got out of there and didn’t call back. I hope she’s doing well.”

He eventually met someone in real life … with the help of Instagram, of course. “We were both in relationships when we met years prior, but we were both single, so I gave it a shot,” he says.

The pair began messaging on social media and eventually met up for a date. “After our first date I deleted the dating apps, and after our third date, in October, I decided to start getting sober and go to school and get a degree. We are still dating, and I feel lucky to be with someone like her.”

He says she’s doing well.