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Journal of Promotional Communications

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Published

2018-12-04

Issue

Vol. 6 No. 3 (2018)

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“It’s just horny fun…” Grindr and its influence on young gay men’s attitudes towards HIV and risky sexual behaviour

Jack Ives

Abstract

This research study explores the gay dating smartphone app Grindr and the role it plays in influencing young gay men’s attitudes towards HIV and risky sexual behaviour, looking closely at the social norms within the app itself. Grindr was specifically chosen as the focus of this research project as it is the largest gay dating app in Europe, and has begun to be considered an important communications tool for public health and communications professionals looking to tackle the spread of HIV. The study used qualitative research methods, implementing semi-structured interviews to gain a rich and in-depth insight into the knowledge and attitudes of young gay men who use Grindr, aged between 18-25 years old. The research findings identified that while Grindr users perceive the app to be highly sexualised and crude, they do not perceive the social norms of the app to directly influence their attitudes towards risky sexual behaviour and that pressure to engage in risky sexual behaviour is more prevalent in real life scenarios, with Grindr allowing users to easily end conversations or block other users.

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