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UScellular shares tips for virtual Valentine’s Day

February 8, 2021

Make Valentine’s Day special no matter how you celebrate

This Valentine’s Day, UScellular wants to help people get creative with how they celebrate. While many typical options for spending time with a significant other or friends are not available, the wireless carrier shares tips on how to plan a romantic date, celebrate with friends or focus on self-care – all from a mobile device.

According to research, in 2020 – likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic – dating apps reported higher online engagement than in previous years. Match Group, the parent company which controls 60% of the dating app market, reported a 15% increase in new subscribers over the second quarter of 2020 with a record-breaking 3 billion Tinder swipes, or initial interactions with other users, the day of March 29. From March to May 2020, OkCupid saw a 700% increase in dates, and Bumble experienced a 70% rise in video calls.

As consumers look to their smartphones for ideas this Valentine’s Day, here are some tips from UScellular to make the day special no matter how they choose to celebrate:

  • Explore art, history and culture through a virtual screenshare date. Share a tour of the Museum of Modern Art, Eiffel Tower, Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History and much more on a Zoom date through Google Arts & Culture. With a smartphone or tablet, discover the treasures, stories and knowledge of more than 2,000 cultural institutions from 80 countries.
  • Get to know each other better. Ask each other questions from Vanity Fair’s Proust Questionnaire, a popularized list of questions asked of big-name celebrities in each issue of Vanity Fair magazine. New York Times offers 36 Questions on the Way to Love, a free mobile app featuring an interactive series of intimate questions for friends, partners or strangers.
  • Treat yourself to a self-care night. Shine is a self-care app with daily motivational texts, self-improvement audio and feel good content. If you’re single and looking to heal your heart, the Mend app offers day-by-day guidance, in-app journaling and audio trainings for mental health and wellness. Take a moment to breathe deeply and let stress go with Headspace. You can listen to a variety of guided meditations for a night of Zen.
  • Get creative with a virtual paint night. All you need is acrylic paint, paintbrushes and a 15×12-inch canvas to enjoy a Yaymaker virtual paint night. These affordable, virtual classes are presented live through Yaymaker’s streaming platform. Crayola and Google Images also offers free printable coloring pages for adults.
  • Take a virtual vacation. Traveling continues to be challenging due to the pandemic, so why wait for a physical vacation? Explore YouTube for virtual city tours and share each other’s travel goals for the future.
  • Challenge each other to a game night. Keep Valentine’s Day low-key with a game of Animal Crossing or Scrabble Go while you video chat. Challenge your date to a game of Bitmoji Tennis or Slide the Shakes via Snapchat. Test each other’s trivia knowledge with a virtual round of Trivial Pursuit.
  • Solve a virtual escape room. Harry Potter fans can enjoy a virtual Potter-themed escape room using Google Docs. Looking for more of a challenge? The Escape Game also offers discounted virtual escape rooms for more seasoned, remote adventurers.
  • Plan a virtual movie night. In a study by OkCupid, more than 30,000 respondents indicate that watching a movie or TV show together is their ideal virtual date. The Netflix add-on Teleparty (formerly known as Netflix Party) enables synced video viewing and live chats to share each other’s reactions. Hulu (No Ads) and Hulu (No Ads) + Live TV members also can use the Hulu Watch Party feature to access thousands of on-demand movies and shows to watch together.

Want to be more active?

  • Cook and enjoy a new recipe together via the Cookpad app (free on both iOS and Android) that allows users to connect and share recipes and photos, as well as chat with each other about what’s cooking. No matter the experience level, users can cook to impress with more than 4,000 recipes and easy step-by-step instructions with Tasty.
  • Work up a sweat with a virtual workout. Download the FitOn app (free on both iOS and Android) and choose a workout to try together. FitOn offers cardio, strength, high-intensity interval training (HIIT), yoga and Pilates with pre-recorded workout classes taught by celebrity trainers, including Jonathan Van Ness, Julianne Hough, Gabrielle Union and more.
  • Challenge your date to a TikTok dance-off. Search for dances in the TikTok app, decide which viral dance you will both learn and share your moves with the world (or keep them to yourselves and have a good laugh).

About UScellular

UScellular is the fourth-largest full-service wireless carrier in the United States, providing national network coverage and industry-leading innovations designed to elevate the customer experience. The Chicago-based carrier is building a stronger network with the latest 5G technology and offers a wide range of communication services that enhance consumers’ lives, increase the competitiveness of local businesses and improve the efficiency of government operations. To learn more about UScellular, visit one of its retail stores or www.uscellular.com. To get the latest news, promos and videos, connect with UScellular on Facebook.com/uscellular, Twitter.com/uscellular and YouTube.com/uscellularcorp.