Mobile apps and sexual risk behaviours among men who have sex with men

Key take-home messages

• Since the 1990s, gay and bisexual men who have sex with men have been using information and communication technologies, specifically the internet and mobile smartphone networking applications for a variety of sexual purposes.
• Men who prefer finding partners online, and by extension, men who use mobile apps to find partners, prefer the anonymity of the encounter, the ability to experiment with their sexuality, and the ease of interaction with partners.
• While some research suggests that seeking sex through mobile and internet platforms is associated with more high-risk behaviours than other ways of finding sexual partners, other research suggests on-line sex seeking may contribute to more protective behaviours.
• Given the number of men who use the internet and mobile apps to seek sexual partners, these platforms may be effective tools for education and HIV-STI prevention interventions.
• The internet and mobile apps can be used to recruit and engage men who have sex with men in HIV-related research; however, researchers should be aware of the different characteristics (e.g., age, ethnicity, education) of individuals recruited through mobile apps versus more traditional recruitment methods.

• Population(s)
  • Men who have sex with men
  • General HIV+ population
  • General HIV- population
• Prevention
  • Sexual risk behaviour
  • Education/media campaigns
• Health Systems
  • Delivery arrangements