TQS Staff
A lot of gay men find it hard to meet other gay men due to the obvious problem of how do you tell if a guy is gay? Along comes the age of the Smartphone and in steps Grindr, a dating application launched in 2009 which allows gay and bisexual men to find and chat to each other by location.
I didn’t get a Smartphone until relatively late in the day and when I did it ran Android, not Apple’s operating system. With Grindr only being available to iPhone users until earlier this year, I’ve only recently started ‘Grinding’.
At first I was reluctant, worrying the app was purely to find random hook-ups in the early hours of the morning (something I’m not interested in) , I mean even the name ‘Grindr’ sounds pretty sexualised doesn’t it? Despite my initial concerns I downloaded the app and have been using it for a couple of weeks.
Sure, the grid of nearby men is dotted with pictures of half naked guys who are obviously only after one thing but surprisingly the vast majority of the guys on there seem to be looking for ‘’mates/dates’’. There’s also a handy block feature which means you never have to see the occasional sleaze that pops up.
So I upload a picture and add a mini bio and within seconds little icons pop to the top of my screen to notify someone has started chatting to me and I’m instantly hooked. The guys talking to me aren’t old letchy men, they’re young and attractive and above all, talking to me!
Don’t get me wrong, I like going out on the scene but I never expect to meet a guy there, I’m far too busy picking myself up off the floor. Using Grindr, I’ve already been on a date with one guy, unfortunately the chemistry wasn’t there but there’s plenty more fish on the screen. I think Grindr is like any other dating service, you can get out if it whatever you want, if all you’re looking for is one night stands you can get it but if you’re looking for a little bit more you can also, it seems, get it with Grindr.
There is also a lesbian equivalent called Qrushr Girls, I’m obviously unfamiliar with it but the stats seem to put it on a par with Grindr , any girls reading this use it? If so comment below letting me know how you find it
The people behind Grindr have also recently announced a version of the app for straights is being developed, but will it be as successful as the gay versions? I’m not sure, what do you think?
