Is There A Hierarchy In Dating Apps?
Is Grindr The New Manhunt?
Phew! Okay, although the year is just blossoming, I’m starting to feel a little old. When did it become so hard to keep up with online dating apps? I’m in my late 20s, so I like to believe I was one of the first young twinks around who discreetly browsed the likes of Craigslist, Manhunt, and Adam4Adam. Back then, in 2009, those websites became extremely taboo to even discuss in your social circle. The same year, online dating suddenly became a smash hit when the ever-so-popular Grindr became mainstream. Yet, now I’m hearing that Grindr has become the gross version of dating apps … like, where did time go?!
Since the release of Grindr, I will admit online dating has became more socially acceptable. It was belief that people weren’t necessarily privately touching themselves while browsing through personal advertisements or profiles of others in their bedrooms late at night anymore. Instead, you could discreetly be scoping for guys “for conversation” while on your commute to work or even on a smoke break if you had a smart phone. Now, it seems the dating apps are seemingly endless. Off of the top of my head, I can think of Chappy, Zoosk, Scruff, Hinge, Tindr, OkCupid, and the best for the “older” gays, OurTime, to name a few. I have a handful of friends who grimace every time I state I still occasionally browse Grindr rather than one of the so-called humble dating apps. According to some within my social circle, Grindr is simply grimy … because there allegedly aren’t many men interested in anything besides “looking”. But of course, we all know what looking means.
As Facebook is to Myspace, would you agree that we can say Manhunt is the Myspace of dating sites and apps? Some of you may have accounts over there still and some may even use it quite often, but in my circle, many don't know about it. With the inventions of Scruff, GROWLr, and Grindr, Manhunt got a little dusty, tried their own app, but it's not one of the top apps/sites anymore.
And today, Into, Grindr's online LGBTQ publication, announced it was laying off its entire editorial staff and its corresponding social media team. In a press release:
The team at Into was saddened to learn this morning that as of Jan. 15, we will no longer be with Grindr. The company will be refocusing its efforts on video and as such, the editorial and social teams were let go this morning. We feel that Into’s closure is a tremendous loss for LGBTQ media, journalism, and the world.
It seems that Grindr may be having a bunch of issues (Grindr's President and CTO is Back Tracking On His Stance on Same-Sex Marriage), but maybe they are just revamping and rolling with the punches. Wait, Manhunt did that, too.
Is it becoming popular opinion that Grindr is the worst online dating app? Or am I one of those people who is essentially just tarnishing the name? One could say our favorite yellow-masked logo is/was a pioneer, but I’m quite curious if I should be exploring other dating app options before diving back into the grind, um, er. Which of these dating apps is actually the best to use? Should I follow the many social media ads and give one of the "outwardly genuine" ones a try? Then again, it's the whole dating vs "looking" games we play. In my small social circle of friends, I don’t think anyone has ever fallen in love off of one of the apps, popular or not, so I’m kind of thinking they're all a variety of ways to get laid. Am I literally, in the clouds?
Currently, I'm finding much more success being a ray of shining light out in the real world and in public, and maybe the only time I do use Grindr is too do the “looking”.
When it comes to actually doing more than looking, which dating app do you prefer?
This is the opinion of one Instinct Magazine Contributing Writer and does not reflect the views of fellow Contributors or Instinct Magazine itself.
When I was on the apps (which was until July 6, 2021), Grindr and Scruff is where I went for fun, Hinge is where I went for love. On July 6 I had a Hinge date that went exceedingly well, and – together – he and I deleted our apps on July 16, 2021 and focused on solely being with one another. So, I’d say you can find love on the apps, it just takes navigating and selecting correctly. And, if you want to use Grindr and the like to find love, you most certainly can, but it may be harder to accomplish there than on apps like Hinge, where users are more focused on relationships.
I found what I thought was
I found what I thought was love thru Grindr. Maybe it was and that's why it was so damaging lol.
Honestly, my Grindr feed is nearly half and half Dating (no nudes, no faceless, no blank) vs "Looking."
And there's still quite a breadth of people of all ages who still use it xD
It certain tops my list lol, I personally haven't really explored any other apps besides like Hornet and Jack'd. And Tindr for a weekend lol
The author’s perspective is
The author's perspective is speaking directly to my soul lol – class of '09? XD
Oh man…