Grindr 'Unwraps' Some Surprises from 2023
If you thought Spotify was intriguing with its "Wrapped" results for 2023, wait until you see what Grindr "Unwrapped" this holiday season.
"Every year we compile anonymous aggregated data from our global user base and survey our community on an array of pop culture topics and trends," the popular hookup app advised.
2023's results provided some illuminating insights about what men who have sex with men (MSM) around the world were into this year. App users seeking bottoms were in luck in South Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, which took the top three spots in that category — though France ranked number one for the number of "hung bottoms," with the UK and Canada trailing right behind.
Looking to be a bottom? Try your luck in Trinidad and Tobago. That's where the highest concentration of tops were at. Kenya and China followed in the next two top spots. But when it came to femme tops, Ireland, the UK, and the United States held sway.
Finland proved to be the land of the vers, with Austria and Germany sharing the top spots, and when it comes to sides, Singapore, the Philippines, and China took command.
More specialized demographic information was also parsed from the year's big data set. Bangladesh led the pack for bears, followed by Pakistan and Nigeria, while the Netherlands, Belgium, and Brazil were where the twinks were at. Pups ruled in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Costa Rica.
Italy, famed for its fashion sense, had the most foot fetishists. Those with a fixation on armpits were most abundant in Germany, France, and Morocco. Leather, meanwhile, was most major in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Panama.
What users were looking for — versus what they were offering — provided some interesting contrasts. The top term posted in profiles was "discreet," Grindr reported, followed by "bi" and "fwb" ("friend with benefits"), while the top search terms were "hung," "trans," and "bb" (which, in this case, stands for "bareback"). The UK reigned supreme when it came to "vanilla tags," with former colonies Australia and New Zealand showing that the apple didn't fall too far from the tree in this case.
The United States pulled ahead in a couple of notable areas, including that of daddies. Nigeria and Australia also displayed BDE, or Big Daddy Energy.
There was plenty of other information gleaned, as well, such as the fact that the peak user hour was 6 p.m. on Sunday nights — no doubt as everyone wrestled with the Sunday scaries — while the airwaves were busy with taps (13 billion) and chats (1 billion; Grindr wondered, "How many of them were "'Sup?").
Grindr users demonstrated definite social trends, as well. South Korea registered the highest number of open relationships, with Nigeria and Pakistan rounding out the top three. When it came to the arts, "Barbie" was by far most beloved by Grindr users, with "Red, White & Royal Blue" taking the #2 spot and "Oppenheimer" ranking third. (Is it too late for "#BarbenRoyal" to trend?) For television, "Heartstopper" was top-rated, as were "White Lotus" and "RuPaul's Drag Race," and Cardi B's "WAP" still topped the charts on Grindr's profile songs. Ariana Grande came in second with "7 Rings," and Billie Eilish took the bronze with "Happier Than Ever."
The Grindr community went in big for Rhyheim Shabazz on OnlyFans; flipped their wigs for "The Bald and the Beautiful" podcast; and embraced "NSFW pics" in the highest numbers in the United States (whereas Kenya was most put off by the same).
Perhaps the biggest reveal was that, while religious conservatives were losing their collective marbles in a full-blown Satanic panic over Kim Petras performing "Unholy" with Sam Smith, the transgender German artist had loads (and loads) of fans in Grindrland celebrating her Grammy win.