Dating Apps Increase the Risk of STDs in Gay Men: Study

After dating websites, phone apps like Grindr and Scruff are popularly used by gay men to look for partners. These applications locate prospective partners and other users with the help of global positioning system (GPS) allowing men to have multiple sexual encounters. The total number of registered users for Grindr was 2.5 million in 2012 that rose to 6 million in 2013. Its increased usership is related to a rise in sexually transmitted infections, especially in gay and bisexual men.

Experts claim the deadly sexual affliction occurs more frequently in app users than those who have sex with casual acquaintances in bar and clubs.

The study, led by Matthew R. Beymer of the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Center, examined 7,184 male homosexuals for STD's and did a survey of their lifestyle habits, social life and social media use to find partners for hook-ups. All the participants interviewed in the trial lived in urban parts of Los Angeles. It was observed that 34 percent of the participants met their partners in person, around 30 percent used personal contacts along with online dating and 36 percent used smart phone dating apps and other methods.

Majority of app users were men aged below 40 who were well educated of White or Asian origin. Some of these subjects reported using mind-altering substances like cocaine and ecstasy. It was found that STD was common in dating app users than those who met partners through websites or personal sources. Nearly 23 percent were at risk of contracting gonorrhea and 35 percent with chlamydia. But HIV and syphilis was not prevalent in this group.

The authors believe the convenience and efficiency in tracking a potential sex partner in a short period of time makes these apps more superior than traditional dating systems and websites.

"Technological advances which improve the efficiency of meeting anonymous sexual partners may have the unintended effect of creating networks of individuals where users may be more likely to have sexually transmissible infections than other, relatively less efficient social networking methods," write the authors.

However, these findings do not apply to men residing in other areas. The authors urge men to take safety measures and limit app use to avoid unnecessary sexual relations and dangers of unprotected sex.

"Technology is redefining sex on demand," they say. "Prevention programs must learn how to effectively exploit the same technology, and keep pace with changing contemporary risk factors for sexually transmitted infections and HIV transmission," they added.

More information is available online in the journal Sexually Transmitted Infections.