Jasper: I was 16, and it felt like my only way of connecting with the gay scene. But that experience made me realize I needed to talk about what I was up to-and ever since then, I've always told someone where I'll be. At the time, I felt so ashamed about my sexuality I didn't dare say anything. It was the second time I had met up with him, but he suddenly started behaving weirdly so I eventually had to sneak out. This other time, when I was 19, a guy locked his front door while we were inside. I was so shocked and left as soon as I could. When I told this one date who was in his late 20s that I didn't feel comfortable anymore, he ignored what I was saying and kept on touching me. What were some of those experiences like? For me, it lead to some very bad experiences dating older men. I don't think these kinds of sites are safe enough for gay teenagers. I soon noticed that the chats were mainly focused on sex and there was also a lot of drug dealing going on. But even though I was a bit scared, I created an online profile using my real name and photo because I figured that anyone who found me there had to be gay as well.
I hadn't come out yet and I didn’t want to go to local gay spots. VICE: When was your first time on a gay dating site?
