Grindr? Blendr? Are we talking smoothies here?

Apparently not.

We're talking something a little bit more in-depth than just a Banana Buzz.

I was out once with some friends, and noticed that one of the guys (who's gay) kept playing with his phone all night. I made a point of telling him he was rude and that he should pay us more attention, which is when he introduced me to the wonderfully frightening app on his iphone, known as 'Grindr'.

Being the naive person that I am, I sat in shock horror as he explained how the app worked.

Basically, Grindr is a way for gay men who want to, um, 'play' can hook up and 'play' together.

Now PLEASE do not misunderstand me. I love gay men. And I respect gay men. But what freaked me out, is how this app worked.

Basically, a man will sign up, and upload a photo of himself. This app then determines his location. When he signs in, he can see other men with their photos, around him, close to his location, who, like him, are up for a good time.

Now mate look. Each to their own yeah. But what FREAKS ME OUT, is that these complete strangers know where you live. Like they can come and find you. They can stalk you!!!

And now, they've brought out BLENDR. For straight people.
So like basically, if I had Blendr, and turned it on one day while I was sitting in a cafe, other people with Blendr nearby - in the cafe, on the street, a couple of blocks away could come and find me.

I've had some feedback from people who actually have the app - one lady told me she had it so she could meet new people and that she hadn't, um, 'played' with anyone she met. It was a more a way to meet cute guys, exchange numbers and then go on dates.

But the average person who has downloaded this app, i'd say, was for one purpose only, right? Cause that's how it has been pegged and promoted.

What is stopping someone from coming into the cafe you're at, after you've turned your Blendr on, sitting in front of you because they have recognised you due to your photo that you've got on you Blendr profile, and striking up a conversation??

Sure, to some people that is ok.
That would just completely freak me out.

Ok so some might say, what about Facebook check in.
How is that so different.

Look, people check in on Facebook when they're at the Ivy.
Everyone checks in at the Ivy.

But do people check in when they're at home? No.
If you have, why? Why would you do that?

Agree? Disagree?

Call me old fashioned. Call me cynical and call me an absolute gran, but i don't think i'm down with the fact that complete strangers can see my picture, see that i'm nearby, and more importantly, *assume* i'm up for a good time.

I work in media - the number of police media alerts I receive a day, the amount of missing persons that we're notified about. Think about the number of people who are abducted, raped etc.

Isn't an app like this dangerous in the wrong hands??

I think so.

bambi
xx