Abstract
In the last years, dating applications (DAs) have had a significant impact on the way in which people seek sexual and romantic relationships. Social groups, such as men having sex with men (MSM), who can experience discrimination and social isolation, find DAs especially engaging and helpful in finding sexual partners. Previous studies have provided evidence showing vulnerability to mental health problems among the MSM population—these problems can be potentially facilitated by DAs use. Excessive use of DAs is associated with lower well-being and life satisfaction, depression, higher substance use, and lower sleep quality. Therefore, there is a need for a better understanding of psychological functioning and risk factors associated with the use of DAs among MSM, which we focus on in this review. We also discuss two relatively new research areas: compulsive sexual behavior disorder and chemsex, and their relation to geosocial-networking mobile technologies. Finally, we point out the limitations of available studies on the mental health of MSM using DAs and propose further research directions.
Highlights
In recent years, mobile dating applications (DAs) have become popular worldwide, changing the way people establish intimate relations, and seek sexual partners
Particular manuscripts were included if (a) studies focused on men having sex with men (MSM) group, (b) studies focused on online dating and geosocial networking applications use, (c) studies focused on mental health issues and psychosocial consequences associated with DAs use, or (d) articles were published in English
We focused mainly on aspects associated with substance use and risky sexual behaviors as MSM seem to be especially vulnerable to threats in this domain
Summary
Mobile dating applications (DAs) have become popular worldwide, changing the way people establish intimate relations, and seek sexual partners. A comparable number of both women and men [1] use geosocial-networking mobile applications for dating, there is a category of “apps” dedicated for non-heterosexual males [2] such as Grindr, Romeo, Hornet, or Adam4Adam. In this narrative review, we present (in section Characteristics and Mental Health of MSM Who Use Mobile DAs) the current state of knowledge on sociodemographic and mental health of men having sex with men (MSM) using the mentioned applications, presenting both the advantages (lower stigmatization, increased partner availability) and threats (e.g., exposure to risky sexual behaviors) associated with DAs use. (in section Discussion), we discuss the limitations of available studies and propose directions for future research.
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