A recent study headed by The Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles and The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health, Sexually Transmitted Disease Program, Los Angeles, California, concluded that sexual health clinic MSM (men who have sex with men) attendees who are meeting on GSN (gay social network) apps are at greater risk for gonorrhea and chlamydia than MSM attendees who meet in-person or on the internet. According to the study’s methodology: “Data [was] collected between August 2011 and January 2013 on all self-identified HIV-negative, MSM clients visiting the L.A. Gay & Lesbian Center for STI (sexually transmitted infections) screening. A total of 7184 individuals tested for STIs and self-reported behaviors on drug use and social networking methods to meet sexual partners.” But, first, a bit of background: primarily between 2009 and 2013, geosocial networking applications, including Grindr, Scruff, and Recon, which allow users to determine the physical location of other users, have been increasingly popular with gay men seeking a sex partner. In 2013, Grindr reported it had six million users with 2.6 million users added in 2012 alone. In a separate study published in 2013, 46% of Grindr uses admitted to having unprotected anal intercourse in the last six months with someone met on a social app.
In the UCLA study, over 7000 gay men were interviewed; those who were HIV+ were excluded. Of the 7184 unique individuals included in the analysis, 34% met sex partners through in-person social networking only, 30% met partners using the internet only or in combination with in-person social networking, and 36% met partners using GSN apps only or in combination with the other methods. The study found that self-identified HIV-negative, MSM clinic attendees who met sexual partners via GSN phone apps have a greater incidence of gonorrhea and chlamydia, when compared with self-identified HIV-negative, MSM clinic attendees who used in-person or internet networking methods to meet sexual partners in Los Angeles County, California. In conclusion, they found that men who use apps to hook up were 25% more likely to be infected with gonorrhea and 37% more likely to be infected with chlamydia.
Author’s note: Also, of great interest from the UCLA study, is that the vast majority of gay men who hook-up on social apps are between the ages of 20-39; all post-AIDS epidemic gay boys. In addition, 47% were college graduates and 27% had attended college. Therefore, the alarming results from this study are not a matter of ignorance or misinformation. In fact, a separate study conducted by the New York City based Community Health Care Network found that almost 50% of the gay men surveyed had unprotected anal intercourse with someone they met on a social app. Yet, 80.9% of respondents knew that HIV is transmitted through “unprotected anal sex, vaginal sex, and – less frequently – oral sex;” and 68.1% were afraid of being infected or re-infected. Why then do gay men continue to engage in these knowingly deadly behaviors? Because the homosexual orientation is one that deifies logic, it cannot be explained by a flippant pop-psyche “born-that-way” mantra or even through a full social and cultural embracing of gay sexuality, or for that matter, gay marriage. For, it’s a very deep and serious emotional problem which continually pushes the subject towards the irrational: i.e. picking up strangers and placing one’s life at risk. It creates a sort of continual restlessness, a quest for inner peace which is never realized. Therefore, despite the well-known dangers, gay are driven onward – oftentimes to the brink of death.
Previous study:
UCLA study:
Community Health Care Network Study: