INDIA: The digital world can seem very promising and engaging, with dating apps being more in vogue and getting the sufficient spotlight, especially from youngsters desiring to meet people online and build rapport consequently.
With all its perks and advantages, dating apps for the LGBTQIA+ communities have been platforms that engage in homophobia that create a lot of emotional turmoil making these platforms relatively vulnerable and unsafe space altogether.
Many LGBTQ people still have difficulty finding dates, particularly in comparison to their heterosexual counterparts, despite the presence of multiple apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge that make it much easier for them to meet other LGBTQ people. The dearth of the public is among the most obvious dating options.
Apps like Hinge are becoming more comprehensive by providing frequently asked questions that help tab with prevalent LGBTQ dating people learn about different subjects pertaining to dating and gender identity.
Apps might make things much easier, but also, because they lack anonymity, many people are scared to use them. Paranoia about using the apps raises the prospect that anyone could imitate a member of the LGBTQ community and their peers. Likewise, how one wants to express themself noticeably may also be an indication of how many matches one will obtain on an app.
The fact that these platforms are public and open to all, the societal stigma, makes these people from the LGBTQIA+ communities get back to the closet after they realise the crude reality of homophobic attacks.
There have been years of underlying traumas that prevent the LGBTQIA+ communities from coming out of the closet and engaging in dating platforms, revealing their identities. The dilemma lies in whether these communities prefer to stay in the closet to prevent homophobic attacks or if they should rightfully and deservingly discover their matches, shattering the stigma for a change.
Psychological distress can also stem owing to the high disappointment that the members of the LGBTQIA+ communities have with themselves. In addition to this, most of the people from the community discover their sexual identities much later in life, which would prevent them from engaging in these platforms earlier.
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