New-Era Living: Revising Relationships & Social Connections

Domestic Bonds Dominate

Households have become the epicentre of pandemic-era kinship. While families report improved bonds – four in five British parents say their family became closer during lockdown (Mumpoll, 2020) – they’re also merging into multi-household support groups. These pandemic pods reflect new priorities that see extended relationships as key to wellbeing.

Friendship in Flux

Covid-19 lifestyle changes ushered in a ‘funnelling effect’, where consumers focus on their closest companions, and let casual connections fade. Working from home is also recalibrating connections: while 64% of Brits have found maintaining office friendships from home a challenge (Cisco, 2020), new ‘same-street’ friendships are on the rise.

Recalibrating Romance

The pandemic has accelerated the tech-savvy, emotionally in-tune relationships profiled in Contemporary Courtship. Since mid-March, 69% of dating app users in the US have tried virtual dates, compared to 6% pre-pandemic (Match, 2020). For long-term couples, quarantine has highlighted the support their partners do (or don’t) provide, causing both marriage and divorce rates to spike.

Kids Develop Digital Kinship

With enforced isolation, kids have migrated to the Metaverse to fortify their friendships. Far from being an interim IRL substitute, digital worlds are enriching the social connections of Gen Alpha (born 2010 to today) and Gen Z (born 1996-2009): sparking new rituals, milestones and identity expressions.