The fear of dating is real, and I never want to dismiss that.

As a dating coach for the online dating site, OKCupid,

D'Amona Hoffman has heard more than her fair share of dating anxieties.

Dating really is a learned skill.

Logan Yuri, the director of Relationship Science for the App Hinge,

thinks one reason for this is rooted in history.

What we now consider dating, two individuals who spend time together to decide

if they want to choose each other for love,

and not for power or economic advantage or to solidify an alliance,

didn't become common until the 1890s.

So this is actually a relatively new thing in the span of human history.

Then you think about the fact that dating apps have been here for about a decade,

a little bit more, and so if people listening find it hard,

that's because it's very new.

Our brains were not necessarily designed to make decisions this way.

Add to that a global pandemic where the only fail-safe way to stay healthy was to cut

yourself off from others.

D'Amona Hoffman is hearing a new set of worries from her clients.

Not being practiced, not feeling like you're in your best skin,

and able to put your best foot forward right now,

because we have been so isolated.

Tammy in San Diego, California, she's using her first name only for privacy reasons,

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