JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Young men who have sex with men and young transgender women (YMSM-YTW) utilize online spaces to meet sexual partners with increasing regularity, and research shows that experiences of racism in these virtual spaces mimic the real world.

Objective:

We present an analysis of differences by race/ethnicity in online and mobile apps used to meet sexual partners as reported by YMSM-YTW living in Chicago in 2016-17.

Methods:

YMSM-YTW in a racially and ethnically diverse sample aged 16-29 were asked to name websites/mobile apps used to seek a sexual partner in the prior 6 months, as well as provide information about sexual partnerships from the prior 6 months. This study explores factors associated with 1) use of any website/mobile apps to find a sexual partner; 2) use of a “social network” to find a sexual partner as opposed to websites/mobile apps predominantly used for dating/hook-ups; 3) use of specific websites/mobile apps; and 4) reporting successfully meeting a sexual partner through a website/mobile app among those who reported using a website/mobile app.

Results:

We find that Black non-Hispanic YMSM-YTW are significantly less likely to report using a website/mobile app to find a sexual partner, but more likely to use a social network site to find a sexual partner. Individual apps used vary by race/ethnicity, with Grindr, Tinder, and Scruff more common among White non-Hispanic YMSM-YTW and Jack’d and Facebook more common among Black non-Hispanic YMSM-YTW. Finally, we find that Black non-Hispanic YMSM-YTW app users are less likely to report successfully meeting a new sexual partner on an app than White non-Hispanic app users.

Conclusions:

Our findings lead to a deeper understanding of how racial/ethnic sexual mixing patterns arise and have implications for the spread of sexually transmitted infections among YMSM-YTW in Chicago.