There's a lot of Chatty Cathys self-isolating during the coronavirus outbreak ... and they're looking to hookup ... without the risk of spreading the virus.
Reps for Bumble tell TMZ their dating app is seeing a huge increase in folks getting flirty, but video chats and good ol' fashioned voice calls are becoming all the rage. Bye-bye, texting.
Since the COVID-19 outbreak, we're told Bumble's seeing a 21% increase in its voice chat and video call usage ... and people are staying on the line longer than normal, as in 15 minutes on average.
This spike in guys and gals shooting their shots is even more pronounced in areas heavily impacted by the virus. Bumble says messages are being exchanged at a higher clip overall in San Francisco (26% bump), NYC (23% increase) and Seattle (21% jump). Kinda makes sense ... you'd hope more people are adhering to "stay at home" orders in those areas -- but they're still looking to maintain human contact.
To that point ... Bumble messages are up 21% overall across the country, and there's an increase in what the app deems "quality chats" -- people chatting longer and sharing more in each sent message.
As we reported ... Bumble and Tinder are doling out dating advice for the COVID-19 era and encouraging singles to get to know someone without meeting up in person.
Bottom line is we should all maintain physical distance, but that doesn't mean you have to be emotionally distant too.