Jana Hocking is picky about her dating apps. Every week I get an email from a publicist or entrepreneur telling me they've got really exciting news. It's always the same and, spoiler alert, it's never exciting. They're spruiking a new dating app that they assure me is totally different to the others and will definitely help people find the love of their lives! Upon closer inspection, they are always fairly similar to Tinder, Hinge, Bumble etc โฆ except this one focuses on video dating, or this one has cutting-edge technology that stops catfish, or this one has prettier font and an "easy to use" design.
Like, yay, but also snore! With the millions upon millions of dollars that Tinder, Hinge and Bumble spend on marketing, I'm sorry to say I usually take one look at these emails before quickly deleting. So when a friend pulled me aside one afternoon to tell me she's signed up to a ridiculously naughty and fun new dating app, my first thoughts were a little dismissive. Until she told me about the adventures she had been on since signing up. It's called Feeld and it's designed as a sex-positive app where you include in your profile what your sexual interests are, for example, threesomes or group sex or BDSM or any safe form of sexual fetish you desire.
Now I like to think I'm no prude and perhaps it was time I explored new avenues when it came to dating, so one very boring afternoon I decided to explore my curiosity and log on to the app. Quietly patting myself on the back for being so progressive, I started to set up my profile. It asks for your name, gender, sexuality there are a whopping 20 to choose from โ including heteroflexible and homoflexible , then you list your desires do you like to "watch", dress up, role play etcโฆ , hobbies, and an introduction bio.
You then upload photos of yourself, and choose whether you would like to go incognito or keep your profile visible to other members. It also allows you to pair your profile with your partner โ which is handy if you are looking for a threesome. Now I would love to say I went on to have a fabulous time, going on dates, trying new things and living boldly, but sadly, I lasted a whole hour on the app before I very quickly deleted it.
I came across a lot of people well outside my age range perhaps it was because I was located outside of the city at the time? The next day, a guy I had a crush on a few years ago started following me on Instagram. I followed him back and we started chatting in the DMs. We organised to meet for a drink the next night and I was excited to reconnect. Halfway through our date, he worked up the courage to mention he had seen my profile on Feeld and loved that I was "experimental".
