The Old Times

Designing GRATR – A Social Media Platform

Design a social media platform or make changes to an existing platform so that it will be more ethical. You can use existing features from other platforms: try to innovate. You do not need to make a working app or site, but you do need to make a 5 minute visual presentation with a voice over (see previous post in this blog for link to presentation) that:

• Identify intrusive and potentially damaging aspects of social media
• overview of your new social media platform
• How it is ethical?
• how you plan to monetise it?
• what it would look like (prototype walk-through)
• who it is for? You will be making a user persona (week three)
• why you think it would work

The detailed answer:

GRATR: Building an Ethical Community Centre for LGBTQ+ Connection

The Elevator Pitch

GRATR is an ethical social platform designed specifically for LGBTQ+ individuals living in areas where community resources are scarce. Unlike dating apps that prioritize instant gratification and physical appearance, GRATR functions as a virtual community centre with five integrated sections: Community (resources), Connections (community building), Social Life (events and culture), Food & Drink (accessible venues), and Shopping (ethical businesses). Built on cooperative principles, GRATR uses regional filtering instead of GPS tracking, mandatory age verification, daily usage limits, and values-based profiles. Users become co-owners with democratic voting rights. Revenue supports the community, not shareholders. GRATR transforms social deserts into thriving, connected communities.

How GRATR is More Ethical Than Grindr

The fundamental difference between GRATR and Grindr lies in their core purpose. Grindr operates as a transaction-based platform optimized for instant gratification, while GRATR functions as a community utility designed for long-term wellbeing.

Privacy and Safety: Grindr’s real-time GPS location tracking has led to documented cases of robbery, targeting, and exploitation. The platform shares sensitive health data with third parties. GRATR eliminates these risks entirely. Location filtering works by region or county, never precise GPS coordinates. A proximity masking feature deliberately randomizes displayed distances, making targeted attacks impossible. No user data is shared with third parties, and sensitive health information stays local-only with GDPR-compliant consent.

Age Verification: NPR investigations revealed over 100 cases since 2015 of minors being exploited through Grindr, where age verification was easily bypassed by simply lying about birthdates. GRATR implements mandatory biometric age verification from day one using secure, privacy-preserving third-party services. Self-reported age is insufficient. This single feature could prevent the devastating experiences documented in stories like that of German Chavez, who was assaulted at age 13 after easily accessing Grindr.

Addictive Design: Grindr employs constant notifications, infinite scroll, and “who’s nearby” features that encourage compulsive checking. GRATR makes wellbeing tools the default, not an afterthought. Daily interaction limits are standard. A “Pause” mode helps users manage screen time. Push notifications are opt-in only for direct messages, never for proximity alerts. The feed design deliberately prevents addictive scrolling patterns.

Superficiality: Grindr’s focus on physical appearance and instant availability harms self-esteem and reduces humans to commodities. GRATR uses delayed photo reveals, making full photo access available only after exchanging meaningful messages. Profile prompts focus on values and community role. Mandatory questions like “What does community mean to you?” force authentic engagement. Photos are optional, interests are not.

Moderation: Grindr has been widely criticized for inadequate moderation of racism, body shaming, and harassment. GRATR implements a zero-tolerance, three-strike policy for discrimination. A hybrid system uses AI flagging with mandatory human review for all reported discriminatory content. A Community Review Board of selected users regularly audits moderation decisions. Critically, discriminatory filters based on race or body type are banned entirely, preventing the platform from institutionalizing prejudice.

Innovations of GRATR Over Existing Apps

GRATR introduces several groundbreaking features that reimagine what social platforms can be:

Distance Expansion for Non-Dating Support: The “Reach Out” feature creates a formal Mentorship and Support Network that extends up to 200 miles. This clearly non-dating network connects users for verified purposes like career advice, coming out support, or finding local group meetups. For isolated users in rural areas, this means access to mentorship and community resources far beyond their immediate vicinity.

Comprehensive Resource Integration: Unlike single-purpose dating apps, GRATR is a multi-section social utility hub. The Community section provides safety guides, group setup instructions, and an accessible journey planner with real transit accessibility notes. The Shopping section includes an assistive products database with grant and funding information. The Food & Drink section offers granular accessibility filters covering everything from washroom specifications to table heights. No other platform integrates these essential life resources with social connection.

Community Ownership Model: GRATR operates as a Platform Cooperative where users are literal co-owners with democratic voting rights. This fundamentally changes the relationship between platform and user. Instead of extracting value to enrich shareholders, revenue supports the community. Users vote on the platform’s roadmap and policies. This model has proven successful in platforms like Hylo (social coordination) and Stocksy United (stock photography cooperative where artists earn 50-75% royalties instead of the industry standard 15-20%).

Timebanking System: Members earn credits by offering help to others within the community. These credits can be spent on app features and services, enabling full platform participation even for those unable to pay. This creates a genuine sharing economy within the LGBTQ+ community.

Plain Language Governance: Terms of Service and Privacy Policy are written in accessible plain language, not legal jargon. An “Export My Data” feature gives users full access to all data held about them. This transparency reinforces user autonomy and ownership.

Intrusive and Damaging Aspects of Social Media

Jaron Lanier’s book “Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now” provides a framework for understanding the systematic harm built into mainstream platforms. He coined the term BUMMER (Behaviours of Users Modified and Made into an Empire for Rent) to describe how platforms use algorithms and data collection to modify users’ thoughts and actions.

The ten documented harms are:

1. Loss of Free Will: Behavioural engineering and addictive design undermine personal autonomy. Users believe they are making choices, but algorithms shape what they see and when, creating manufactured desires.
2. Amplified Outrage: Social media magnifies misinformation and polarization because controversial content drives engagement. Platforms profit from division.
3. Encouraged Cruelty: Algorithms prioritize engagement over empathy, meaning angry and rude content gets amplified. Online behaviour magnifies our worst impulses.
4. Undermined Truth: False content spreads faster because it provokes stronger emotions. The business model rewards lies over facts.
5. Meaningless Communication: Constant broadcasting devalues words and discourse, converting human communication into algorithmic noise optimized for advertising.
6. Destroyed Empathy: Interactions become performative and shallow. We perform for an audience rather than connecting genuinely, reducing human bonds.
7. Manufactured Unhappiness: Comparison, addiction, and negative emotional cycles are deliberately built into platforms. User misery is profitable when it drives engagement.
8. Stolen Economic Dignity: The economic model depends on unpaid user labour. We create all the content, provide all the data, yet receive no compensation. We are the product being sold.
9. Impossible Politics: Platforms fragment discourse, breed extremism, and undermine democratic cooperation. Nuanced political discussion becomes impossible in spaces designed for outrage.
10. Dehumanization: Ultimately, the system values engagement data over individual wellbeing or creativity. Users become data points, not humans.

Lanier’s message is both cautionary and hopeful. By stepping away from manipulative platforms, people can recover autonomy, empathy, and truth in their digital lives. GRATR is built on this hope, proving that technology can serve human flourishing rather than exploit it.

GRATR’s Ethical Framework

GRATR operates on four ethical pillars. Privacy and Safety means regional filtering, no GPS tracking, mandatory biometric age verification, and zero third-party data sharing. Addiction Safeguarding includes default daily limits, pause modes, and delayed photo reveals prioritizing values over appearance. Governance and Moderation enforces zero-tolerance for discrimination through three-strike policies, hybrid AI and human review, and community oversight boards. Wellbeing and Autonomy provides plain language terms, full data export capabilities, and a 200-mile radius mentorship network for non-dating support. These are not optional features but fundamental platform architecture, ensuring ethical operation is structurally guaranteed, not simply promised.

Monetization Model

GRATR uses a Platform Cooperative model where users become co-owners with democratic voting rights. Revenue sources include sliding-scale membership starting at £1 for lifetime access, with supporter tiers for those able to pay more (subsidizing others). A one-time ownership fee grants voting rights on platform decisions. Small transaction fees apply to businesses selling through GRATR. Timebanking allows members to earn credits by helping others, spending credits on features. This model, proven by Hylo and Stocksy United, optimizes for community value rather than profit extraction. No surveillance advertising. No data sales. Revenue supports the community, never external shareholders.

Who GRATR is For: User Personas

GRATR serves LGBTQ+ individuals in “social deserts” where community resources are scarce. Research shows these users face 61% discrimination rates and higher psychological distress. Three personas drive the design: The Isolated Seeker values safety and belonging, seeking any connection to combat loneliness. They need verified profiles and non-sexual connection spaces. The Local Organizer values empowerment and visibility, wanting to build physical community spaces. They need robust event management tools. The Ethical Dater, disgusted by superficial mainstream apps, seeks authenticity and emotional investment. They need mandatory value prompts and limited daily interactions that force deliberate engagement over compulsive swiping.

Why GRATR Will Work

Market demand is clear and documented. Academic research confirms LGBTQ+ individuals outside major cities desperately need community resources. The ethical tech movement grows as users increasingly reject exploitative platforms. GRATR’s unique position as a comprehensive community utility, not just another dating app, fills a genuine gap. The cooperative model appeals to the political and social values of the target audience. Successful precedents exist: Hylo fosters purpose-driven groups without ads, while Stocksy United proves cooperatives can compete by offering fair compensation. GRATR’s grassroots aesthetic and community ownership structure align perfectly with the activist spirit of LGBTQ+ organizing, creating authentic cultural fit.

References

Lanier, J. (2018). Ten Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now. London: Penguin Random House.

NPR Morning Edition. (2021, August 3). “The Hidden Risks on Dating Apps: Why Grindr and Minors is a Critical Conversation.” Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/2021/08/03/1024108203/how-grindr-a-popular-gay-dating-app-poses-exploitation-risk-to-minors

Platform Cooperativism Consortium. (n.d.). “Vision and Advantages.” Retrieved from https://platform.coop/about/vision-and-advantages/

Hylo. (n.d.). “About.” Retrieved from https://www.hylo.com/about/

Stocksy United. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.stocksy.com/

Harris, T. & Humane Technology. (n.d.). “Impact and Story.” Retrieved from https://www.humanetech.com/impact-and-story