Older gays tell young’uns what dating & hooking up was like before the apps took over
on Reddit recently—after one user asked what dating was like before Grindr and other apps hit the scene in 2009. Of course, Reddit tends to be a younger person’s platform, so many of the more mature gays offering responses relied on pre-Grindr social networks, even if doing so meant using dial-up —or actually leaving the house!Here are some of those recollections, abridged for brevity and edited for readability.“It really wasn’t that mysterious.
You met at a bar or wherever and hooked up or exchanged numbers. It was certainly easier in places like San Francisco, where you could assume everyone else at the grocery was gay.
The difference, I would say, is that you had to have the courage to walk up to a stranger and introduce yourself and express interest.”“You had to meet out doing things.
I met gay people as a teen working at the mall. I met gay people in college through the gay student group. I met gay people through gay rights groups.
