Use of Geosocial Networking (GSN) Mobile Phone Applications to Find Men for Sex by Men Who Have Sex with Men (MSM) in Washington, DC

Abstract

Current advances have added geosocial networking (GSN) mobile phone applications as an option for men who have sex with men (MSM) to meet other men. This is the first study to assess GSN application use and sex-seeking behaviors of MSM recruited using venue-based sampling. Among the 379 MSM in this study, 63.6 % reported using GSN applications to find men in the past year. Nearly one-quarter of MSM had sex with a man met using a GSN application in the prior year; these men were more likely to be under 35 years old and have had sex with a man met on the Internet; they were also less likely to be HIV-positive and have <5 male sex partners in the last year. GSN applications are a viable option for use in sampling and delivering interventions to young MSM who are often missed through other methods.

Spatial Distribution of Partner-Seeking Men Who Have Sex With Men Using Geosocial Networking Apps: Epidemiologic Study (Preprint)

“…Much of the research on GSN app usage among MSM has been conducted in large urban areas [10,15,22,25,26], yet similar patterns of online sex-seeking are reported among MSM residing in rural and mid-size cities [27,28]. Smaller cities often differ from larger cities in terms of stigma [29,30] and availability of visible gay spaces [31][32][33].…”

“…), to meet sex partners [6]. GSN apps provide information on geographic proximity between users making sexual partner-seeking quick and convenient [7][8][9][10]. Research among MSM who use GSN apps to find sex partners have shown mixed results regarding the relationship between GSN app use and risky sexual practices.…”

“…While some studies found no association between GSN app use for partner-seeking and sexual risk behavior [11,12], some research suggests that partner-seeking on GSN apps is associated with increased condomless anal intercourse [9,13,14], drug use (i.e. methamphetamine, Viagra, poppers, painkillers) [10,13,15], number of partners [10,13,16,17], and history of STI diagnosis [15,16,[18][19][20][21].…”

“…Though many studies have surveyed MSM to examine the use of GSN apps to find sex partners [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][18][19][20][21][22], relatively few studies have used the GSN apps' geospatial capabilities to better understand geographical patterns of partner-seeking among MSM. Previous research in Atlanta, Georgia described a methodology for using the geolocation features of a GSN app as a novel approach to calculating the estimated spatial density of GSN app-using MSM.…”

“…Hispanic, and business zoning amounting to greater (or equal) or less than 1% of the area of the block group (binary). These variables were included in the analyses because past research on GSN app use has found that demographic variables such as age [10,15], race/ethnicity [10,15], and income [22] were associated with app use.…”