We need to talk about how Grdr is affectg gay men’s mental health - Vox

Contents:

• HOOK-UP APPS ARE DTROYG GAY YOUTH CULTURE
• HOW GRDR, A POPULAR GAY DATG APP, POS EXPLOATN RISK TO MORS
• WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT HOW GRDR IS AFFECTG GAY MEN’S MENTAL HEALTH

HOOK-UP APPS ARE DTROYG GAY YOUTH CULTURE

Among gay men, two-thirds of hookups volved oral or anal terurse.

Young gay men were the group most likely to hook up wh strangers. Comg out as gay my hometown of Muncie, Indiana, was not an easy thg to do, so I didn’t. Like many LGBT folk, I flocked to a liberal universy a liberal cy to feel accepted, but I found gay muni closed-off to LGBT youth.

We all crave nnectn and timacy, but there is nowhere for hly out young gay men to nnect. But stead of advancg the gay agenda of cln, I found the apps to perpetuate what people srn about LGBT: promiscuy, impersonal behavr, and sexually motivated nversatns. When an troductn to gay culture is through a sex-based app, perpetuat the sex-based stereotype.

HOW GRDR, A POPULAR GAY DATG APP, POS EXPLOATN RISK TO MORS

Each datg app foc on a different mographic, wh OkCupid, Tr, and Grdr thrivg as probably the three most popular the mastream gay muny. Gay men want those perfect relatnships that we see romantic-edi, stead of the ultimate fear of our generatn: beg alone. Homosexualy, while popularized by the media, is still nsired dangero to teach to our kids.

We need rmed parents who unrstand how to support gay youth.

We need llege-aged LGBT to actively work their state’s pals for gay marriage, harassment laws, and transgenr equaly. Whether ’s teenagers beg groomed by other men or dividuals g the app to feed to their unhealthy pg mechanisms, the culture on Grdr, as well as gay hookup culture general, needs ser change.

WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT HOW GRDR IS AFFECTG GAY MEN’S MENTAL HEALTH

Even Troye Sivan opened up on his unfortable experience on Grdr to The New Yorker, “One of s tracks [on Sivan’s send album], ‘Seventeen, ’ is based on an experience mon to young gay men but rarely talked about.

Acrdg to Jack Turban, a gay psychiatrist, “Grdr, tentnally or not, also leverag a psychologil ncept lled variable rat rercement, which rewards for clickg e at unpredictable tervals. As a rult, men start to see each other as objects stead of human begs, which also rults the prejudic and racism wh the gay datg muny. In fact, the unhealthy e of gay datg apps may keep gay men om fdg lastg long-term relatnships.