It is known that drug use, blood transfusion and unsafe sex can lead to HIV infection. Now you can add one more cause to the list: Dating apps. A two-year-long UN study reveals that use of dating apps is driving the increase in HIV infection among adolescents aged between 10-19 years in the Asia-Pacific region.
The infections is particularly on the rise because of how these apps allow gay men to connect with willing partners. It has been often documented that the HIV infection tends to be higher among the gay men, probably because of unsafe sexual practices.
"Young gay men themselves have consistently told us that they are now using mobile dating apps to meet up for sex, and are having more casual sex with more people as a result. We know that this kind of risky behaviour increases the spread of HIV," Wing-Sie Cheng, HIV/Aids adviser for Unicef in east Asia, told the Guardian.
While the internet dating apps involve a tedious task of setting up the meeting place, the mobile dating apps are like Tinder or even Facebook's "nearby friend option" match people on the basis of their proximity. Gay dating apps like Grindr, Scruff, BoyAhoy and GrowLr are also popular because users can scan the nearby locations and seek immediate sex with willing partners.
"If I write down all the people I had sex with in Manila, I can probably write one to five people for each stop of the metro," a Filipino man told the Guardian.
The immediate and easy availability of sex also mean that often the people participating in the sex don't use condoms. "I did use condoms. But it was not consistent. You don't want to lose the momentum," said the Filipino man.
According to WHO, HIV is a prime concern for global public health and has claimed 34 million lives so far. In 2014, 1.2 million people died from HIV-related causes globally.
The use of apps like Tinder is on the rise worldwide. Recently Tinder said that in India it has seen the use spike by almost 400 per cent in one year.
Almost all of these dating apps are using by all sorts of users, including heterosexuals. While some people use the apps to find dating partners, many are looking for casual flings. The apps also help gay people find partners, especially in societies like India where it is still not easy for people with different sexual orientation to come out of the closet.
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