There’s obviously never a wrong time to meet guys, go on dates, or just hook up and get off, but is there a best time? Is there a peak dating season for gay men?

The short answer is yes, and we’re about to hit the ultimate peak – Spring.

The weather is getting a bit warmer, we’re all shaking off our winter lethargy, and our instincts are telling us that it’s time to sow some wild oats.

This period building up to Easter appears to be one of the key times of the year when guys are at their horniest and are on the hunt for some action.

What do the numbers tell us?

When we analyse the data from Gaydar, we can see that there’s certain times of the year when we see peaks in activity.

When we look across the year, there’s really four peak periods.

These are:

• February
• Easter
• Summer
• Christmas

There’s obviously plenty of dating activity going on throughout the rest of the year, but it’s these four periods where we see significant spikes of around a 25% increase in activity such as sign-ups, active users, search, chat, and messaging.

Why do we see peaks in online dating at different points of the year?

There’s some consistent themes and some unique circumstances that make these four periods hot-spots of guy-on-guy dating and hook-ups. Let’s dive into it.

Why is February peak dating season?

The obvious answer here is Valentine’s Day. Sure, 14 February is only one day in the month, but we’re all familiar with the relentless onslaught of marketing campaigns guilting us into buying flowers and chocolates for the love of our life.

Even though we’re all sensible people and can see right through such blatant emotional blackmail, subliminally, the underlying messages are hard to escape.

The tsunami of love-related nonsense surrounding Valentine’s Day inevitably gets us all to thinking that maybe a bit of human intimacy could be exactly what we need in our lives.

Why is Easter peak dating season?

This could just be the chocolate talking, but around the Easter period we’ve generally got a few days off, the weather is getting warmer, and we start to feel a bit more open to possibilities.

This whole period of early Spring – leading up to the Easter holidays – is when things are really starting to pop.

Why is Summer peak dating season?

It’s not rocket science as to why we’re all up for a bit of action in summer. A bit of warm weather means that we’re all wearing less clothes, we’re more inclined to relax in the sun, to kick back. We’re dreaming of being on a beach, we’re dreaming of getting hot and sweaty. It’s exactly the right time of year to turn up the heat.

Why is Christmas peak dating season?

You might think that Christmas is all about spending time with family, not hooking up with anonymous guys you’ve met online, but our lives are more complicated than that. During the festive period, we’ve generally got more time on our hands – things are winding down at work, everyone takes some time off. Online dating activity really starts to take off from Boxing Day – the family stuff is done, and there’s not much else going on to keep us entertained. Plus, as soon as we hit Boxing Day, thoughts start turning towards New Year’s Eve – there’s party plans to be made and we start thinking we should find a hot guy to be kissing when the clock strikes midnight.

How to make the most of peak dating season

Be open to possibilities. If someone suggests meeting up or asks you out, look for ways to make it happen.

Be proactive. Don’t sit back and wait for the world to discover you. Send some messages. Reach out to people that you fancy. Be the one to suggest catching up and spending some time together.

Be adventurous. Break out of your day-to-day routines. Try new things. If you want to meet new people you’re going to have to break out of your comfort zone .

Use the technology. Update your Gaydar profile and get amongst it.

A beginner’s guide to dating gay men

There’s nothing easy about dating.

Whatever you’re into, whatever your sexuality, trying to date can sometimes feel like you’re tentatively navigating an emotional minefield – blindfolded.

Obviously, dating isn’t an exact science. There’s also lots of variables – you’ve got to find what works for you.

But, if you’re looking for some tips on how to date gay men, we’ll have a stab at it.

What are you looking for?

This is fairly fundamental and it’s something that you need to ask yourself before turning your attention away from the mirror.

You need to be clear as to whether you’re looking for a quick hook-up, a regular fuck-buddy, someone to make long-term plans with, or whatever – your objective is going to shape the who, what, how, and when of everything that follows.

For the purposes of this exercise, we’re going to assume that you’re looking for something a bit more serious than a hook-up. Something that will hopefully lead to some repeat business. Something that will require you to learn each other’s names, navigate a sleep-over, and possibly involve one of you cooking breakfast. Let’s call this dating.

How do you meet a gay guy that might also be interested in dating you?

Frustratingly, there’s no silver-bullet solution to this. You’re going to need to use all of the tools you’ve got at your disposal.

Simplistically, there’s three potential scenarios through which you might meet someone to date.

• Scenario 1 is that you could try dating someone that you already know. Maybe it’s one of your fuck-buddies, or a friend, or someone you’ve met through work, or whatever. You’ve already met this person and you either need to look at them differently or they need to look at you differently.
• Scenario 2 is that you are going to try meeting someone new without using a dating app. There’s lots of different ways that you can try to do this, but essentially you’re going to use your networks and your daily activities to try and connect with guys that you don’t yet know. Maybe you’ll join a sports club, or do some charity work, or try some business networking – you’re going to need to do something that puts you in front of some guys you haven’t met yet.
• Scenario 3 is that you are going to try meeting someone new by using a dating app. Some apps are quite specifically focused on hook-ups or cruising or fetish, so – given that you’re objective is dating – you need a more general app like Gaydar where you can be clear about what you’re looking for.

Should we have sex on the first date?

There’s nothing wrong with having sex on the first date.

You might be second-guessing yourself, thinking that having sex straight-up makes it a hook-up without any longer-term dating potential, but there’s no point over-thinking it.

If you end up in bed together fairly soon after you’ve met, that’s usually a pretty good sign that at least there’s some chemistry between you.

How do you land the second date with a guy that you’re interested in?

If you’ve met someone and had a first date, the next question is whether there’s going to be any repeat business. Do you want a second date? Does he?

Let’s assume that the first date has gone well and you’d like to see him again. The first thing to do is to let him know.

Don’t sit back waiting for him to text, or thinking that it’s some kind of power-play to see who messages first. That’s a waste of time. Be relaxed and casual about it – send him a quick text to let him know that you had fun and that you’d be up for seeing him again.

What happens if you’re keen but he doesn’t seem that interested?

Dating is an emotional roller-coaster. More often than not, the guy that you’re keen on will have something else going on in his life and probably isn’t as interested or available as you’d like him to be.

If he’s not responding positively to your suggestions for a second date, it’s time to move on. It’s okay to feel disappointed, but there’s no point getting upset or angry. His loss. Thank you, next.

There’s a lot of guys out there, and dating is inevitably a bit of a numbers game. Get out there and get among it.

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