A DICTIONARY GUIDE TO STUFF GAYS LOVE COMPILED BY PAUL JOSEPH AND TIM BENZIE
Like the philosophical falling tree in a deserted wood, where’s a guy to go when he’s feeling cute and there’s no one to see it? Instagram, of course! Launched in 2010, Instagram quickly became the platform for aspirational visual bragging – interiors, vacation destinations and gourmet plates, documenting the lifestyles of the wannabes and the wannabe-thems. The final destination for many a selfie, the ’Gram has flattering filters and a hashtag reach that outstrips Twitter. It’s the optimum platform for “curating one’s brand”, recording aspirational journeys and sharing life’s quirky moments. For gays it allows flirting on a global scale and provides tangible dating opportunities on a local level. In more recent years it has become the go-to place for social media validation – with shirtless pics of hunks (who have allegedly just woken up) garnering thousands of likes. The thirst is real, hashtag filter or nofilter.