One-time event is word of mouth
“It’s fresh and awkward… Like and dislike”
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“Because of Corona 19, I can’t even meet people and I’m so bored. So I applied because I wanted to do something, but I think each person (who has tried) will have different likes and dislikes.”
When asked the reason for applying for’Zoom Gating’ (a blind date using Zoom, a video conferencing platform), Mr. A, an office worker facing the monitor screen, answered: As Corona 19 prolongs and non-face-to-face meetings become commonplace, companies that arrange’zoomgating’ for young men and women are also emerging. Has heard the thought of’untact (non-face-to-face) meeting’ from those who have participated in Zoom Gating.
Save the zoom website.
People who participated in Zum Gating showed a feeling that it was “awkward but fresh”. Most of them encountered companies that arranged non-face-to-face meetings through acquaintances, news, and social network service (SNS) advertisements. Mr. B said, “I was curious about the kind of people who do this, so I applied. It’s awkward to just look at the screen and talk, but I think it’s a new experience and if it’s okay, I’ll recommend it to my friends.” “It can be a good option for those who think that it is not easy to meet people,” said Mr. A, who has experience in zooming. Meeting people on the screen gives a fresher feeling than I thought,” he explained. Zumgating companies usually arrange meetings by identifying the applicants’ values, dispositions, and tastes in advance and then finding an appropriate partner among them and matching them. In some cases, a device to induce a natural conversation by designating a topic or question to be discussed in advance. Nevertheless, ZumGating is different from a blind date in which an environment where you can sit face to face and have a conversation while looking at the other person’s eyes. In short meetings within 15 to 20 minutes, it is sometimes awkward to look at the other person over the monitor while staring at the camera.
“As I do it at home, I have no choice but to worry about the background and lighting. I was even more nervous because the only place to look at it was the monitor and the camera.” (C)
“Because of the pressure of time, in some cases, I say anything out of context and then end up. It’s difficult if the other person can’t look at the camera properly and avoids their gaze.” (A)
Since I have no choice but to focus on the other person’s face in the center of the screen, I have no choice but to fully pay attention to the momentary’eye tremors’, subtle facial changes, and gestures. ‘Zoom Gating’ started as a one-time event in an anonymous community of college students or social gathering companies, but it is also introducing a marriage information company as it steadily gained popularity through word of mouth. Professor Myung-ho Myung-ho of the Department of Psychology at Dankook University said, “As offline meetings disappeared due to the corona, the value of online meetings, centered on the younger generation, increased. Non-face-to-face meetings have the strength of anonymity, so they will continue to increase in the future.”
Save the website of a company that arranges a’blind date’ with Zoom.
By Jang Pil-soo, staff reporter [email protected]