I am thrilled to announce that Beducated has won the 2024 AskMen Dating Award 🏆 for Best Sex Ed App! I found my first partner online in 2002. Here’s a trip down memory lane...
Back in 2002, I joined a local radio dating chat called 'Antenne Bayern Chat'. With no internet at home and a time before everyone had the internet in their pockets, I had to visit a place called 'Internet café'. They still exist to an extent today. Any Millennial or older will remember those times. The radio dating chat had no profiles or images, just usernames. To see someone’s photo, you had to request it via email. The internet was so slow that the image would download for half an hour 🤯
Despite these limitations, I met my first boyfriend. While we weren’t a perfect match, I appreciated the technology that made it possible. As a straight cis woman, attending an all-girls school and meeting boys was a challenge in those days. This new tech opened up new possibilities.
Interestingly, OkCupid launched only one year later, in 2003, which still exists today and also won an award as the best dating app for queer guys. If I compare OkCupid with my initial experience, I am in awe of what has changed. Today, we can fine-tune our profiles and match based on sophisticated questionnaires. And all with a couple of clicks.
The history of tech-assisted dating goes even further back to 1959. As part of a Stanford class project, two students used a questionnaire and an IBM 650 to match 49 men and 49 women, marking the first algorithm-based dating experiment.
Today’s dating apps are powered by advanced AI and sophisticated algorithms, catering to every orientation and preference. However, despite these advancements, many individuals, especially men, minorities, and POC, find it incredibly challenging to find love online.
At Beducated, we bring pleasure-based sex education right into everyone's bedroom, including comprehensive dating courses. If you are navigating the world of dating, know that there are tools and resources available to help you succeed.
If you'd like to know what the best dating apps are, you can check out the article in the comments below.
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