Skip to main content

Traditions in (re)Negotiation: Geosocial Networking Apps and Intimate Relationships Among Men Seeking Men

Sexuality & Culture volume 25, pages 189–216 (2021)Cite this article

Abstract

Information and communication technologies have introduced profound changes to how individuals pursue sexual and romantic connections. One class of communication technologies that has become especially popular in recent times is that of geosocial networking apps, which characteristically use smartphones’ global positioning system technology to transmit and receive users’ location data. To date, however, most research investigating the impact of internet-mediated communication on socio-sexual relations has focused on more established systems like chat rooms, social networking sites, email, and instant messaging. The present study thematically analyzes interview data from gay, bisexual and queer men to explore how geosocial networking apps influence the development and organization of intimate relationships. Our findings reveal a simultaneous entrenching and subversion of traditional understandings of intimacy shaped by the heteronormative model of lifelong, monogamous marriage, which undercuts attempts by grand theory to paint contemporary intimate relationships in broad strokes as being either in a state of radical democratization or moral decline. Such cultural contestation, we argue, should be taken as a starting point in future research attempting to faithfully capture the complex and tentative transformations occurring with love and sex in the digital age.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

References

  • Adam, B. (2006). Relationship innovation in gay male couples. Sexualities, 9(1), 5–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, M. (1971). Family, household and the industrial revolution. In M. Anderson (Ed.), Sociology of the family. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, M., Vogels, E.A., & Turner, E. (2020). The virtues and downsides of online dating. Pew Research Center report. Retrieved May 1, 2020 from https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2020/02/06/the-virtues-and-downsides-of-online-dating/.

  • Apptopia. (n.d.a). Version history. Grindr—Gay Chat. Retrieved from https://apptopia.com/ios/app/319881193/about.

  • Axinn, W. G., & Thorton, A. (2002). The transformation in the meaning of marriage. In L. J. Waite, C. Bachrach, M. Hindon, E. Thomson, & A. Thornton (Eds.), The ties that bind: Perspectives on marriage and cohabitation (pp. 147–165). New York: Walter de Gruyter.

    Google Scholar 

  • Badal, H. J., Stryker, J. E., DeLuca, N., & Purcell, D. W. (2018). Swipe right: Dating website and app use among men who have sex with men. AIDS and Behaviour, 22(4), 1265–1272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bauman, Z. (2003). Liquid love: On the frailty of human bonds. Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baxter, L. A. (1988). A dialectical perspective on communication strategies in relationship development. In S. W. Duck, D. F. Hay, S. E. Hobfoll, W. Iches, & B. Montgomery (Eds.), Handbook of personal relationships. London: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baxter, L. A. (1990). Dialectical contradictions in relationship development. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 7, 69–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, M., & Jamieson, L. (1999). Perceptions of parents as a function of their marital status and sex. Infant and Child Development, 8, 149–154.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Berger, C. R., & Calabrese, R. J. (1975). Some explorations in initial interaction and beyond: Toward a developmental theory of interpersonal communication. Human Communication Research, 1, 99–112.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Birnholtz, J., Fitzpatrick, C., Handel, M., & Brubaker, J.R. (2014). Identity, identification and identifiability: the language of self-presentation on a location-based mobile dating app. In MobileHCI 2014–proceedings of the 16th ACM international conference on human-computer interaction with mobile devices and services, pp. 3–12.

  • Blackwell, C., Birnholtz, J., & Abbott, C. (2015). Seeing and being seen: Co-situation and impression formation using Grindr, a location-aware gay dating app. New Media & Society, 17(7), 1117–1136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bourdieu, P. (1990). The logic of practice. Translated by R. Nice. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

  • Boyd, D. (2010). Social network sites as networked publics: Affordances, dynamics, and implications. In Z. Papacharissi (Ed.), A networked self: Identity, community, and culture on social network sites (pp. 39–58). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boyd, D. M., & Ellison, N. B. (2008). Social network sites: Definition, history, and scholarship. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 13(1), 210–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brashers, D. E. (2001). Communication and uncertainty management. Journal of Communication, 51, 477–497.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brubaker, J. R., Ananny, M., & Crawford, K. (2016). Departing glances: a sociotechnical account of ‘leaving’ Grindr. New Media & Society, 18(3), 373–390.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Business Wire. (2018). Grindr, in Partnership with Bucksense, Launches Self-Service Advertising Product. Retrieved March 9, 2019 from https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180829005147/en/Grindr-Partnership-Bucksense-Launches-Self-Service-Advertising-Product.

  • Chan, L. S. (2017). Who uses dating apps? Exploring the relationships among trust, sensation-seeking, smartphone use, and the intent to use dating apps based on the Integrative Model. Computers in Human Behavior, 72, 246–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Charles, N., & Kerr, M. (1988). Women, food and families. Manchester: Manchester University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark, H. H. (1996). Using language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Corriero, E. F., & Tong, S. T. (2015). Managing uncertainty in mobile dating applications: Goals, concerns of use, and information seeking in Grindr. Mobile Media & Communication, 4(1), 1–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Costa, L., & Matzner, A. (2007). Male bodies women’s souls: Personal narratives of Thailand’s transgendered youth. New York: Hawthorne Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • D’Angelo, J. D., & Toma, C. L. (2016). There are plenty of fish in the sea: The effects of choice overload and reversibility on online daters’ satisfaction with selected partners. Media Psychology, 20(1), 1–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daroya, E. (2018). “Not into chopsticks or curries”: Erotic capital and the psychic life of racism on Grindr. In D. W. Riggs (Ed.), The Psychic life of racism in gay men’s communities (pp. 67–80). London: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • David, G., & Cambre, C. (2016). Screened intimacies: Tinder and the swipe logic. Social Media + Society, 2, 1–11.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, M., Flowers, P., Lorimer, K., Oakland, J., & Frankis, J. (2016). Location, safety and (non) strangers in gay men’s narratives on “hook up” apps. Sexualities, 19(7), 836–852.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DeJean, S. L., McGeorge, C. R., & Carlson, T. S. (2012). Attitudes toward never-married single mothers and fathers: Does gender matter? Journal of Feminist Family Therapy, 24(2), 121–138.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Derlega, V., Winstead, B., Wong, P., & Greenspan, M. (1987). Self-disclosure and relationship development: An attributional analysis. In M. E. Roloff & G. R. Miller (Eds.), Interpersonal processes: New directions in communication research (pp. 172–187). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellison, N. B., & Boyd, D. M. (2013). Sociality through social network sites. In W. H. Dutton (Ed.), The oxford handbook of internet studies (pp. 151–172). Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellison, N. B., Hancock, J. T., & Toma, C. L. (2012). Profile as promise: a framework for conceptualizing veracity in online dating self-presentations. New Media & Society, 14(10), 46–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellison, N. B., Heino, R., & Gibbs, J. (2006). Managing impressions online: Self-presentation processes in the online dating environment. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11, 415–441.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fevre, R. (2000). The demoralization of western culture. London: Continuum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Filice, E., Raffoul, A., Meyer, S. B., & Neiterman, E. (2019). The influence of Grindr, a geosocial networking application, on body image in gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men: An exploratory study. Body image, 31, 59–70.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fiore, A.T., & Donath, J.S. (2004). Online personals: An overview. CHI2004, pp. 1395–1398.

  • Firth, R., Hubert, J., & Forge, A. (1969). Families and their relatives. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fitzpatrick, C., & Birnholtz, J. (2018). “I shut the door”: Interactions, tensions, and negotiations from a location-based social app. New Media & Society, 20(7), 2469–2488.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gagnon, J., & Simon, W. (1973). Sexual conduct. Chicago, IL: Aldine.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibbs, J. L., Ellison, N. B., & Lai, C. (2011). First comes love, then comes Google: An investigation of uncertainty reduction strategies and self-disclosure in online dating. Communication Research, 38(1), 70–100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giddens, A. (1991). Modernity and self-identity: Self and society in the late modern age. Cambridge: Polity.

    Google Scholar 

  • Giddens, A. (1992). The transformation of intimacy: Sexuality, love and eroticism in modern societies. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gilbert, D. T., & Ebert, J. E. (2002). Decisions and revisions: the affective forecasting of changeable outcomes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 82, 503–514.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gillies, V. (2003). Family and intimate relationships: a review of the sociological research. London: South Bank University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goffman, E. (1959). The presentation of self in everyday life. New York: Random House.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goedel, W. C., & Duncan, D. T. (2015). Geosocial-networking app usage patterns of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men: Survey among users of Grindr, a mobile dating app. JMIR Public Health and Surveillance, 1, 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goedel, W. C., & Duncan, D. T. (2016). Contextual factors in geosocial-networking smartphone application use and engagement in condomless anal intercourse among gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men who use Grindr. Sexual Health, 13(6), 549–554.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gouldner, A. W. (1960). The norm of reciprocity: A preliminary statement. American Sociological Review, 25, 161–178.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grindr. (2020). How many profiles can I see? Retrieved May 14, 2020 from https://help.grindr.com/hc/en-us/articles/217634187-How-many-profiles-can-I-see.

  • Gross, N. (2005). The detraditionalization of intimacy reconsidered. Sociological Theory, 23(3), 286–311.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grosskopf, N. A., LeVasseur, M. T., & Glaser, D. B. (2014). Use of the Internet and mobile-based "apps" for sex-seeking among men who have sex with men in New York City. American Journal of Men’s Health, 8(6), 510–520.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grov, C., Breslow, A. S., Newcomb, M. E., Rosenberger, J. G., & Bauermeister, J. A. (2014). Gay and bisexual men’s use of the internet: Research from the 1990’s through 2013. Journal of Sex Research, 51(4), 390–409.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gudelunas, D. (2012). There’s an app for that: The uses and gratifications of online social networks for gay men. Sexuality & Culture, 16, 346–365.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heino, R. D., Ellison, N. B., & Gibbs, J. L. (2010). Relationshopping: Investigating the market metaphor in online dating. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 27(4), 427–447.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hergovich, P. & Ortega, J. (2017). The strength of absent ties: Social integration via online dating. arXiv:1709.10478

  • Hickson, F., Davies, P., Hunt, A., Weatherburn, P., McManus, T., & Coxon, A. (1992). Maintenance of open gay relationships: Some strategies for pro-tection against HIV. Aids Care, 4(4), 409–419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hobbs, M., Owen, S., & Gerber, L. (2017). Liquid love? Dating apps, sex, relationships and the digital transformation of intimacy. Journal of Sociology, 53(2), 271–284.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jamieson, L. (1998). Intimacy transformed? A critical look at the ‘pure relationship’. Sociology, 33(3), 477–494.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jamieson, L. (2011). Intimacy as a concept: Explaining social change in the context of globalisation or another form of ethnocentrism? Sociological Research Online, 16(4), 1–13.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jankowitz, M. (2017). Jailed for using Grindr: Homosexuality in Egypt. Retrieved May 14, 2020 from https://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2017/apr/03/jailed-for-using-grindr-homosexuality-in-egypt.

  • Johnson, C. W. (2015). More equitable moments: The changing nature of leisure for LGBQ minorities. In G. Walker, D. Scott, & M. Stodolska (Eds.), Leisure moments. State College, PA: Sagamore.

    Google Scholar 

  • Landovitz, R. J., Tseng, C. H., Weissman, M., Haymer, M., Mendenhall, B., Rogers, K., et al. (2013). Epidemiology, sexual risk behavior, and HIV prevention practices of men who have sex with men using GRINDR in Los Angeles California. Journal of Urban Health, 90(4), 729–739.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LaSala, M. C. (2005). Extradyadic sex and gay male couples: Comparing monogamous and nonmonogamous relationships. Families in Society, 85(3), 405–412.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Licoppe, C., Rivière, C. A., & Morel, J. (2016). Grindr casual hook-ups as interactional achievements. New Media & Society, 18(11), 2540–2558.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lievrouw, L. A. (2014). Materiality and media in communication and technology studies: an unfininished project. In T. Gillespie, P. J. Boczowski, & K. A. Foot (Eds.), Media technologies: Essays on communication, materiality, and society. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lloyd, C. E. M., & Finn, M. D. (2017). Authenticity, validation and sexualisation on Grindr: An analysis of trans women’s accounts. Psychology & Sexuality, 8(1–2), 158–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Manning, W., & Smock, P. (2002). First comes cohabitation and then comes marriage? A research note. Journal of Family Issues, 23, 1065–1087.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marwick, A., & Boyd, D. (2010). I tweet honestly, I tweet passionately: Twitter users, context collapse, and the imagined audience. New Media & Society, 13(1), 114–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mead, G. H. (1934). Mind, Self, and Society. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Metzger, M. J. (2007). Communication privacy management in electronic commerce. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 12(2), 335–361.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, J. (1971). Women’s estate. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moors, A. C., Rubin, J. D., Matsick, J. L., Ziegler, A., & Conley, T. D. (2014). It’s not just a gay male thing: Sexual minority women and men and equally attracted to consensual non-monogamy. Journal für Psychologie, 22(1), 38–51.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, D. H. J. (1996). Family connections: An introduction to family studies. Cambridge: Polity Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, D. H. J. (1999). Risk and family practices: Accounting for change and fluidity in family life. In E. Silva & C. Smart (Eds.), The new family?. London: Sage.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mustanski, B., Lyons, T., & Garcia, S. C. (2011). Internet use and sexual health of young men who have sex with men: A mixed-methods study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 40, 289–300.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oakley, A. (1972). Sex, Gender and society. London: Temple Smith.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogburn, W. F. (1955). Technology and the changing family. New York: Houghton/Macmillan.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pahl, J. (1989). Money and marriage. London: Macmillan.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Parsons, T. (1956). Family: Socialisation and interaction process. London: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Petronio, S. (2002). Boundaries of privacy: dialectic of disclosure. New York: State University of New York Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pew Research Center. (2010). The decline of marriage and rise of new families. Retrieved March 9, 2019 from https://www.pewsocialtrends.org/2010/11/18/the-decline-of-marriage-and-rise-of-new-families/.

  • Pew Research Center. (2018). Mobile fact sheet. Retrieved March 9, 2019 from https://www.pewinternet.org/fact-sheet/mobile/.

  • Race, K. (2015a). ‘Party and play’: Online hook-up devices and the emergence of PNP practices among gay men. Sexualities, 18(3), 253–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Race, K. (2015b). Speculative pragmatism and intimate arrangements: Online hook-up devices in gay life. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 17(4), 496–511.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramirez, A., Walther, J. B., Burgoon, J. K., & Sunnafrank, M. (2002). Information-seeking strategies, uncertainty, and computer-mediated communication: Toward a conceptual model. Human Communication Research, 28, 213–228.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, B. A. (2015). “Personal preference” as the new racism: Gay desire and racial cleansing in cyberspace. Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 1(2), 317–330.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shield, A. D. J. (2018). Grindr culture: Intersectional and socio-sexual. Ephemera: Theory and Politics in Organization, 18(1), 149–161.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stacey, J. (2005). The families of man: Gay male intimacy and kinship in a global metropolis. Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society, 30(3), 1911–1935.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, R. J. (2017). Online exogamy reconsidered: Estimating the Internet’s effects on racial, educational, religious, political and age assortative mating. Social Forces, 98(3), 1257–1286.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, E. P. (1963). The making of the English working class. London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Valentine, G. (2006). Globalizing intimacy: The role of information and communication technologies in maintaining and creating relationships. WSQ Women’s Studies Quarterly, 1(2), 365–393.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walther, J. B. (1996). Computer-mediated communication: Impersonal, interpersonal, and hyperpersonal interaction. Communication Research, 23(1), 3–43.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ward, J. (2017). What are you doing on Tinder? Impression management on a matchmaking mobile app. Information, Communication & Society, 20(11), 1644–1659.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wellings, K., Field, J., Johnson, A. M., & Wadsworth, J. (1994). Sexual behaviour in Britain: The national survey of sexual attitudes and lifestyles. London: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wheeless, L. R., & Grotz, J. (1976). Conceptualization and measurement of reported self-disclosure. Human Communication Research, 2, 338–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yeandle, S. (1984). Women’s working lives: Patterns and strategies. London: Tavistock.

    Google Scholar 

  • Young, M., & Willmott, P. (1975). The symmetrical family. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Funding

This work was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada under Grant # 435–2019-0180.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Public Health and Health Systems, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Eric Filice

  2. Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Diana C. Parry & Corey W. Johnson

Authors
  1. Eric Filice
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Diana C. Parry
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Corey W. Johnson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eric Filice.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

The authors have no potential conflicts of interest to report.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Filice, E., Parry, D.C. & Johnson, C.W. Traditions in (re)Negotiation: Geosocial Networking Apps and Intimate Relationships Among Men Seeking Men. Sexuality & Culture 25, 189–216 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-020-09765-x

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-020-09765-x

Keywords

  • Mobile media
  • Internet-mediated communication
  • Dating apps
  • Intimacy
  • Sexuality
  • Gay