Given how drastically it has changed gay men’s dating and sexual habits its hard to believe Grindr is just four years old.
Even more impressive? The location-based hookup app has garnered more than six million users, with 2.5 of them joining in the last 12 months. That boost has come in large part from millennial gays, raised on Web 2.0 and aging into the Grindr demographic.
A study conducted by the app tapped into some interesting results:
* More than one million Grindr users log on to the app every day and transmit more than seven million chat messages and two million photos to one another.
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* Grindr users spend about an hour-and-a-half using the app daily, and they log in an average of eight times per day.
* Up to 190,000 users internationally are logged onto Grindr at any given moment
* 80% of millennials agree their generation overshares.
* 71% of respondents are comfortable sharing their personal information.
* The apps that Grindr millennials use most often are Facebook (30%), Grindr (28%), Instagram (7%) and Twitter (6%).
Ron Jackson
Grindr is great if you’re under 25, otherwise useless.
fagburn
Hi,
Be interested to know how you checked any of this Queerty.
You’re not just reprinting a press release, surely?
viveutvivas
Grindr is a lifesaver for all the men who live in East Bumf*ck. (In other words, most of the country/world.) But in the cities it is killing gay cafes, bars, clubs, and other community venues, and as a result today’s gay men are more isolated and depressed than even 10 years ago.
SuperGuy24
GRINDR is helping fuel anti-social behaviors and creating a more sexualized one for that matter too.
Charles175
@Ron Jackson: Don’t you mean “great if your emotional age is under 25?” This because some people remain in a Peter Pan Land of perpetual youth for much of their lives.
viveutvivas
@Charles, I for one fail to see why settling down and playing house, like little girls do, is any more “mature” than having random hookups on Grindr. But Grindr is also used for dating (FWIW, I don’t think dating is necessarily superior to hookups at all) and the majority of people on it are actually over 25 where I am.
Spike
Just a means for the 20somethings to do what the rest of us did when we when out to the bars, that being, hook up, and makes them less man whores when they do it on their own without their friends knowing/seeing.
Hansolo
@Ron Jackson: You mean under 25 and White
jeff4justice
Sounds encouraging as a single gay man… until you log in and see most guys are infected with bossy, defensive, or whiny profile syndrome. Also too many just don’t know how to get beyond small talk. It’s no wonder the same guys are always online years later despite how good looking they are.
Guys need to learn how to present their best self in a dating profile. Focus on your best characteristics and maybe some of your favorite things to do. Example: I’m a nice, emotionally-open, sober/drug-free top. Into making YouTube vids and road trips.
Drop the negativity from profiles:
-Focus on what you’re seeking, not what you’re not seeking. You wouldn’t put “No women, no child molesters, no people on death row” in your profile so why put dickish sounding things like “No fats, no fems, no old people.” You might offend a hot guy with a fat, old, fem friend. Write what you’re seeking instead. If you’re “not looking for hook ups” who cares – what are you looking for then? If it’s dates or friends just write that instead.
-Don’t put defensive, whiny stuff in your profile like “not into games,” “not expecting much here,” “tired of flakes and liars,” or “don’t be an asshole.” Stop expecting the worst and be open to good things. Also, drop “not into the scene.” Who cares what you’re not into – what are you into then?
-STOP the bossy commands like: “be smart,” “be normal,” “have a job,” “be fit,” or “have a sense of humor.” There’s nothing wrong with wanting what you want but how you express it is the difference between coming off as a gentleman and a bossy asshole. Who want’s to get with someone who’s already being bossy in their profile? What’s that relationship gonna be like?
-STOP writing “Must have face pic.” Seriously, a good 70% of profiles already have this lame line written in it – so you’re not the first guy to write it. The dating apps and websites already instruct new users to add a pic to increase the odds of meeting someone. If a person does not want to upload a face pic they’re not going to no matter how many of you write “mus have face pic” in your profiles. What’s more, seriously, look at the app or website again – most guys already do have face pics!!! So if you’re mostly getting hit up by guys without pics maybe it means that those confident guys who do have profiles with pics are avoiding you for communicating a defensive message instead of a welcoming one. Non-face-pic profiles are really, really simple to deal with – just block them.
Then after you get a good profile together – learn how to be smooth in your communication.
Too many guys just go on and on and on and on with endless small talk and don’t know how to progress an online conversation. Why ask someone you do not know “how are you,” or “how was your day?” Would that be your first comment to someone you just met in person at a party? Likely not. It would more likely be something like, “I’m Jeff, nice to meet you handsome.”
Just get to the point as tactful as possible. What are you seeking? Friends, sex or dates? Just be clear and polite. Why’s that seemingly so hard for so many men?
When chatting online with a guy one should be able to:
1) Identify why you made contact and what you’re seeking.
2) Find out if you have common interests and compatibly regarding whatever you seeking.
3) Ask for and share an online link to Facebook or OK Cupid profile or website and share more clear/honest pics so the other guy can find out more about you.
4) Ask the guy if he’s wants to meet for whatever your seeking.
I try to help guys who are bad at this by trying to get the conversation going but some guys are just clueless.
Here’s an example of a good convo:
Lazaro: Hi.
Jeff: Hi nice to meet you online.
Lazaro: Thanks. You too.
Jeff: Whatcha seeking here? Friends, sex or dates?
Lazaro: Friends & dates.
Jeff: Rice veto?
Lazaro: Huh?
Jeff: I meant – nice, me too. Sorry, dang voice to text app typo.
Lazaro: Oh, lol : )
Jeff: What do you like to do with friends?
Lazaro: Just normal things like go to the movies, road trips.
Jeff: I love road trips too! Let’s go.
Lazaro: LOL, ok. where?
Jeff: With a handsome guy like you anywhere… and everywhere.
Lazaro: Well, you may not know this about me but I am on the tv show American Idol and then I go on tour in the summer. Unless I win then I’ll go make and album and who knows. You can see more about me here: http://www.americanidol.com/contestants/season_12/lazaro-arbos
Jeff: Yeah, I recognize you from the show. I was playing it cool. But well done.
Lazaro: Tell me more about you.
Jeff: At http://www.jeff4justice.com/ you can find out all about me. I’m an LGBT equality activist and youtuber/podcaster talk show host.
Lazaro: That’s great!
Jeff: Thanks but no where as awesome as what you got going on. I also live out of my SUV instead of in traditional housing because I like the freedom of being able to be wherever I wan to be. I shower at the gym and keep on traveling. I just want to upgrade to a van. That’s eccentric to a lot of people I understand. Are you ok with that?
Lazaro: Yea. It’s unique. Are you ok with me stuttering?
Jeff: Yes. We can also use sign language. Or voice to text apps.
Lazaro: Well, voice apps don’t work as well for me ; )
Jeff: That’s ok handsome guy, you can sing to me.
Lazaro: Ok : )
Jeff: Are you ok with guys my size? I’m also 10 yrs older?
Lazaro: Yes, I like bigger older guys.
Jeff: Lucky me. So may I take you on a date?
Lazaro: Yes.
Jeff: And if we fall in love and end up getting married we can get a van to travel the world in it. After you’re done with Idol we ca make a reality show of our travels on Logo or something.
Lazaro: Sounds great.
Jeff: Ok, can we talk by phone and make a meet up plan?
Lazaro: Ok. (###) ###-####
Jeff: Ok, let’s talk by phone and take it from there. May I call you now?
Lazaro: Yes Jeff, I look forward to hearing your voice.
And then we lived happily ever after ; )
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@viveutvivas True Grindr may help some rural gays but even in my hometown (an area between Chico & Sacramento, CA most people have never heard of) there’s so much poverty that rural, small town gays don’t often have the income for smartphones. The only group that seems to want to help rural/isolated LGBTs is: http://getblissgroup.wix.com/getbliss
viveutvivas
@jeff4justice, good advice in general. Many people display an alarming lack of self-awareness in their profiles, although I am not sure if one should help them or just let them make these mistakes so that one can filter them out more easily.
martkell2007
@Ron Jackson: It’s also good for laughs lol Check out grindrpolice.com
Chadrick
I don’t understand why Grindr is so popular over some similar apps that work MUCH better, namely Jack’d. Jack’d has much more features, but is still easy to use like Grindr. Jack’d works, where Grindr is always bugging out. Grindr survives on being the “gay app” when, in fact, it is one of the crappier gay apps.
jeff4justice
@viveutvivas Well, I want a man so they need some schooling.
@martkell2007 There was also http://www.douchebagsofgrindr.com/
@Chadrick Good tip. I get a lot of spam profile solicitations on Grindr lately. I also use Scuff, Mister, and Growlr.
viveutvivas
@Chadrick, I agree, Grindr sucks *ss, but where I live and travel there’s nobody on these other apps. Where do you live?
Little-Kiwi
i prefer Scruff 🙂
http://littlekiwilovesbauhaus.blogspot.ca/2008/09/online-profile-rosetta-stone.html
a primer for anyone trying to decipher what some of those words and terms on Grindr mean. 😉
Bob LaBlah
I admire ALL of you who do this type of hooking up. I went on a site and saw quite a few middle-aged guys like myself from the gym who were obviously lying about their age. I laughed out loud when I remembered one listed in my area from the days of the Anvil in NYC. He and I had academy-award winning twosomes, threesomes, orgies and the like back in the day and now, according to his profile, he is fourteen years younger than me.
*
I had my day, young’uns. You are free to enjoy yours.
viveutvivas
It’s true, 5 years is one thing, but people subtract 10-15 years from their age, and post a pic from 10 years ago. What, do they seriously think you are not going to notice once you meet?