Geosocial-networking apps (mobile dating apps) like Grindr, Jack’d, and Scruff have been used increasingly among MSM to meet anonymous partners. Prior research demonstrates that time spent online looking for casual sexual partners may increase the odds of having anal intercourse without a condom. Studies suggest that compared to men who do not seek sex on the Internet, Internet sex-seekers tend to have more frequent anal intercourse, more previously diagnosed sexual transmitted infections (STIs), more sexual exposure to men, greater numbers of sexual partners, and greater numbers of sexual partners known to be HIV-positive. Sexual partner seeking on the Internet encourages the use of partner selection criteria in profiles and these specifications often include the preferred age, race/ethnicity, and body type of a partner as well as the desired sexual practices of the individual.
The Internet is one of the most popular venues for sexual partner seeking among MSM. In 2012, among all HIV infections and cases of AIDS in male adults and adolescents in Georgia, 63% of HIV infections and 76% of cases of AIDS were seen in MSM. In 2010, Georgia ranked sixth highest in the nation for the total number of adults and adolescents living with HIV. Although only 37% of the US population resides in the South, about half (49%) of individuals living with HIV in 2010 were diagnosed in the South.
(Delaware, Maryland, West Virginia, Virginia, Florida, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Texas, and Oklahoma) and by 5.2% in the remaining portion of the country. From 2000 to 2003, the number of newly reported acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) cases increased by 36.5% in this region, while the number of newly reported AIDS causes increased by only 4.0% in the other states in the Southern United States. The region commonly referred to as the Deep South (Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, and South Carolina) is disproportionately affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM) represent only 2% of the male population in the United States, yet comprised the majority (63%) of all new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections diagnosed in adults and adolescents in the United States in 2010. The age respondents began using these mobile apps was associated with the age at their first instance of insertive anal sex (r 80=.527, P<.001) and receptive anal sex (r 76=.527, P<.001). Each day, on average, men reported opening these mobile apps 8.38 times (SD 8.10) and spent 1.31 hours (SD 1.15) on these mobile apps. Most men were most active in the late night (40.2%), and on weekdays (64.1%).
Respondents had current accounts on 3.11 mobile apps (SD 1.84) on average, with Grindr being the most common (100%), followed by Scruff (52.5%), and Jack’d (45.7%). Men reporting currently being in a relationship were less likely to report using these mobile apps to meet other MSM to date or to find a boyfriend or romantic partner, but more likely to report using these mobile apps to meet other MSM to have sex, X 2 24=12.1, P=.016. One-third (38.0%) of the men reported using these mobile apps to meet new sexual partners, and one-fifth (18.5%) used them to “kill time” when bored. In total, 604 men clicked through the advertisement, and 92 users completed the survey.