It’s hard to fault them entirely for the demise of our community spaces, because I do passionately believe social media has helped to connect us in more meaningful and powerful ways.Īnd just as its probably kept us at home more often, it’s also allowed us to travel more freely and openly. Is it the fault of dating apps and the fact most of us meet online- rather than in a gay club?Ĭertainly that’s had an effect on the LGBTQ community, but so many of these gay apps have also helped to open up the world at large. AA lot has been said about how gayborhoods around the world have changes the fact that gay bars and clubs are closing with more frequency because of the changing community. Of course there are positives and negatives. It changed LGBTQ nightlife, how we make friends & meet others. The gay apps have fundamentally changed dating-for E V E R Y O N E, the gays, the straights. And the gays were instrumental to that digital boom. I was lucky enough to grow up & come out during the iPhone generation when thousands of new types of apps seemed to be released every day. Once The New York Times writers discovered it, the app world seemed to explode with location-based dating apps. I remember the first time I downloaded Grindr-shortly after it was released. They’ve become so ubiquitous and ingrained in our popular culture, they’re impossible to resist.
