I'm still questioning my orientation, but I've never flirted with or dated women. My therapist suggested I try an app and start messaging people to see how chatting/flirting with the same sex feels. Has anybody tried that while you were questioning or early on after you came out? If so, how did it work for you?
As a matter of fact, yes. I've been on and off dating apps for this reason. Some of my earlier experiences weren't particularly great: There was a couple that clearly hadn't read my bio (I wasn't into couples) and were unicorn hunting. Then there was a girl who I initially liked flirting with until she got too pushy (I had to block her and wound up sick to my stomach, as she seemed hellbent on turning me into something I wasn't). It opened my eyes to the fact that, yes, I'm very much bi and attracted to women, but it also made me realize not just anyone would do. Physical attraction only goes so far if their personality rubs me the wrong way. That said, I don't think dating apps are a bad way to go at all; just that it might involve tempering your expectations. Also prepare to be frustrated with limitations, as a lot of them don't even allow messaging without premium memberships. It might take you awhile to find a decent one, so be prepared to hop around a bit until you find one that's easy to navigate.
I have never had good results from any dating organization or site. I have tried dozens of ways to meet people. Before the internet ranging from free or cheap ads in free newspapers and paying over a thousand dollars for a membership in a dating service and after the internet ranging from free listings to ones costing upwards of $75 a month. The best results that I ever had was simply wasting my time, in the middle was to be pursued by people who I did not want and who I had made clear in my listing that I was not interested in, and the worst was that repeatedly I was contacted by con artists only interested in taking money that I could not spare (usually by talking about some emergency that had come up but I was also subjected to the fake moneygram scam). For me meeting people who have common interests works much better. Finding a hobby that involved other people and getting to know those other people while also doing something that I enjoyed anyway, the worst outcome is having a good time and the best was meeting someone that I got involved with.
Yikes. I am nervous about dating apps and the cost. Meeting people with common interests sounds reasonable, but I'm really shy and we're in the middle of a pandemic, so I'm not sure how realistic that is right now. I will try to keep checking meetup for events.