To end a relationship during a modern pandemic is to break up in multiple ways at once.
“It didn’t help that the internet connection wasn’t great so we kept freezing, and I said, ‘We’re breaking up’ and we were! It was very surreal,” freelance writer and producer Julia Moser, 26, writes in BuzzFeed of being dumped over the videoconferencing app Zoom this month.
Moser had been zumped — dumped over Zoom. The term is new, but it’s bound to become as ubiquitous as “ghosting,” as social distancing drives a wedge between couples grappling with how to communicate.
For her and others, the app is now a place for conferences and catch-ups; happy hours and heartbreak.
Moser had gone on three dates with a vegan man she gives the pseudonym Josh before quarantine hit, and they separately sheltered in place. They had “great chemistry, incredible banter,” and “three of my top five best kisses of all time,” and decided to continue the relationship via Zoom dates.
“[All] together, we talked every day for a little under two months,” writes Moser, who is isolating in her childhood home with her parents. “It felt lovely to have a confidant during this uncertain time, even if our relationship was also in this on-hold, limbo state where I didn’t even know when I’d see him again.”
But it wouldn’t last: In a Zoom call, Josh explained that he’d thought he was ready to date again, a year after ending a seven-yearlong relationship, but had realized he wasn’t.
Although she wouldn’t recommend the experience, Moser does think it was a “compassionate and nice” way for Josh to end things. “He was honest and forthright,” she says, noting she’s grateful he didn’t simply ghost her.
Newly single, she took to Twitter to ask, “Am I the first person who’s been dumped via Zoom?” The tweet went viral, led to her BuzzFeed article and unearthed a few other bizarre, technologically intertwined endings.
“My college bf broke up with me via FaceTime. The app. While I was in Paris. The City of Love. On Christmas Day. The most wonderful time of year,” writes one.
“I was once laid off via PowerPoint,” shares another.
Others have reflected on Twitter that breaking up with someone during a global pandemic over a videoconferencing app is quite the power move.
“Thinking about picking up a boyfriend during this shite solely so I can breakup with him via Zoom,” tweets a fan.
Privacy supporters say the real breakup that should be happening is with Zoom itself. The app, which has become massively popular during the pandemic, has been found to be vulnerable to snooping, with thousands of private Zoom calls recorded and exposed online.
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