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

Contents:

• LBIAN, GAY AND BISEXUAL ONLE DATERS REPORT POSIVE EXPERIENC – BUT ALSO HARASSMENT
• ARE GAY DATG APPS INPATIBLE WH FDG LOVE?
• ARE DATG APPS MAKG GAY MEN MISERABLE?
• UNSEEN, PART 3: POPULAR GAY DATG APP GRDR POS EXPLOATN RISK TO MORS
• WHY IS GAY DATG SO DIFFICULT? 6 REASONS FROM AN EXPERT
• BT GAY DATG APPS FOR HOOKUPS, RELATNSHIPS, AND EVERYTHG BETWEEN
• THE TOP LGBTQ+ DATG S AND APPS: 14 BT GAY DATG S
• WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT HOW GRDR IS AFFECTG GAY MEN’S MENTAL HEALTH

LBIAN, GAY AND BISEXUAL ONLE DATERS REPORT POSIVE EXPERIENC – BUT ALSO HARASSMENT

Lbian, gay and bisexual (LGB) adults the Uned Stat are avid ers of onle datg s and apps, acrdg to a recent Pew Rearch Center survey. The analysis also ed an oversample of rponnts who dited that they intify as lbian, gay or bisexual om Ipsos’s KnowledgePanel, an onle survey panel that is reced through natnal, random samplg. Due to small sample siz, we were not able to analyze lbians, gay men or bisexual adults as separate groups or analyze other mographic subgroups among those who are LGB.

Relatively large shar of lbian, gay or bisexual onle daters – that is, those who have ever ed an onle datg se or app – report that they have experienced at least one of the forms of harassment measured this survey on those s and apps (69%, pared wh 52% of their straight unterparts):.

ARE GAY DATG APPS INPATIBLE WH FDG LOVE?

About two-thirds (65%) of people who intify as lbian, gay or bisexual and have ed onle datg s or apps say their experience was very or somewhat posive. Recent years have seen a proliferatn of webs and smartphone apps signed to help gay men pursue their sexual liberatn a digal age. But when apps are signed to provi immediate sexual gratifitn, are they pable of servg the needs of gay men seekg love and long-term relatnships?

A recent study out of France by Christian Lippe explored the nversatnal differenc between ers of Grdr and Tr (wh the former terg to gay men, while the latter is a datg applitn ed by LGBTQ+ and heterosexual dividuals). By examg the nversatnal texts of participants who agreed to share their app chat history as well as through -person terviews, Lippe noted that gay men tend to scribe a sense of “llective prsure” to nform to the subculture’s foc on hookg up through apps like Grdr. Cumulatively, Lippe’s rearch illtrat that gay men who e apps might strategilly lim the amount of romantic nnotatn nversatns onle to ensure that the arranged meet-up remas strictly sexual nature.

If gay men th perceive the social norm on datg apps to be towards sual enunters, what is this likely to nvey to men searchg for love? A recent study out of the Universy of Toronto terviewed 41 men livg downtown Toronto to learn more about how gay men unrstood the ncept of nnectn wh the ntext of gay datg apps.

ARE DATG APPS MAKG GAY MEN MISERABLE?

More specifilly, the study was terted how participants' seekg short or long-term nnectns wh others was associated wh their sense of cln wh gay datg apps’ onle muni. The rearch nclud that gay men felt they were expected to prent themselv on datg apps as nfint, self-assured, and whout any securi. Prev rearch has shown that many gay men wh apps prefer to prent themselv a masculized fashn by prentg their bodi as f and -shape and g short phras whout any sentimental or romantic nnotatns.

UNSEEN, PART 3: POPULAR GAY DATG APP GRDR POS EXPLOATN RISK TO MORS

Ined, femmephobia, or the soc-cultural valuatn and subordatn of femy, is mon wh ntemporary gay men’s spac and has been associated wh how men prent themselv onle. The Universy of Toronto study nnected femmephobia to the experience of gay men on datg apps to explore how might shape the way men feel they should teract wh other gay men onle environments. In other words, might femmephobia be a ntributg factor to the social norms of onle datg for gay men that support short-term hookups and disurage the openly stated sire for a romantic relatnship?

The study suggted that femmephobia and the femizatn of beg vulnerable, timate, emotnally pennt, and/or romantic functn together to disurage gay men om beg timate wh each other about their feelgs. This, turn, prents challeng for velopg a sense of nnectn wh the gay muny for men who do value the velopment of romantic nnectns. Ultimately, the participants not only discsed g to nform behavurally to the app’s unwrten l but a procs of actually ternalizg certa "tths" about the gay male muny, cludg that gay men, do not "date" and that hookg up is the normative expectatn wh gay men’s sexual cultur and muni.

Of urse, the gay muny fought long and hard for their sexual liberatn and at every stage have been wary of those who would attempt to lim their sexual exprsn. At the same time, however, seems that jt as there are many gay men who seek a sexually liberated life, there are many others who seek the liberatn to love, to love eply, and to form lastg emotnal bonds that unrsre long-term romantic relatnships. Th, don’t seem that the sir are what is missg, but rather, the platforms through which to seek and fulfill the sir while not losg a sense of nnectn and belongg to the gay muny self.

WHY IS GAY DATG SO DIFFICULT? 6 REASONS FROM AN EXPERT

A new study of gay men’s e of datg apps rais qutns about whether the technology tend to make our (love) liv easier may be gettg the way of happs.

1 The rearchers were terted better unrstandg the nflictg rearch to date that pots to both the posive and negative nsequenc of g gay datg apps, such as Grdr. Consequently, rearchers have begun examg how an dividual’s specific goals and reasons for g gay datg apps may play a ccial role termg whether the e of gay datg apps has posive or negative nsequenc for their overall wellbeg. Participants pleted an onle qutnnaire which they answered qutns about their sense of belongg wh the LGBT muny, their self-teem, lonels, life satisfactn, and their overall equency and tensy of g var gay datg apps.

BT GAY DATG APPS FOR HOOKUPS, RELATNSHIPS, AND EVERYTHG BETWEEN

For example, they were asked how often they logged to gay datg apps and their primary motivatn for dog so, om which they uld select the followg optns: to make new iends, to meet people to have sex wh, to fd someone to date, to kill time, or to nnect wh the gay muny. When lookg at all the participants the sample together, the equency wh which men logged onto the gay datg apps was associated wh greater lonels, rced life satisfactn, and a rced sense of nnectn to the LGBT muny. However, given the varied reasons for g gay datg apps, the rearchers wanted to see if the associatns were the same for dividuals who wanted to e the apps primarily to fd sexual partners pared to those g the apps for other reasons.

THE TOP LGBTQ+ DATG S AND APPS: 14 BT GAY DATG S

Men the study reportg that they e gay datg apps primarily to fd sexual partners reported higher levels of self-teem and life satisfactn, as well as lower levels of lonels when pared to men who dited their primary e for gay datg apps was any of the other reasons unrelated to seekg a sexual partner (e.

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

Th, the qutn of whether g gay datg apps has negative or posive associatns wh the well-beg of their ers really appears to pend on the ers’ goals and motivatns for g the apps the first place. On the other hand, men seekg relatnships, iendships, or muny may not be bt served through such apps and therefore may experience tratn upon g gay datg apps, which may ntribute to rced well-beg.

There’s nothg wrong wh the gay datg apps so far as they provi the service that they are most often ed for: nnectg dividuals lookg for sexual enunters. However, this study also pots to a need for more apps to enter the market targeted at gay men who are seekg other typ of relatnships, cludg iendships, long term romantic partners, and muny buildg. Buildg apps and platforms specifilly for this purpose may create a more balanced experience for gay and bisexual men seekg different typ of relatnships.