Abstract
Dating and social media application (“app”) use for sexual and romantic partner-seeking is increasingly ubiquitous among adolescent sexual minorities assigned male at birth (ASMM). Previous work suggests that ASMM use the Internet, including apps, for normative aspects of sexual identity exploration and development. However, there may be risks associated with their use of sexualized apps designed for adults and with sexual interaction with adult app users. Little is known about how they assess and mitigate risk or gauge the trustworthiness of potential partners on such apps. We recruited ASMM in the U.S. (N = 268; ages 15–18 years, mean age = 16.9) to complete an online survey with open- and closed-ended questions about their perceptions of safety and trustworthiness of others while using apps to find partners. Participants perceived various risks on apps (e.g., physical harm, being “catfished”) but did not appear to have clear strategies for measuring or mitigating it. They often assessed trustworthiness by observing other users’ behavior or profiles. Participants frequently described interacting with older app users as risky or untrustworthy. Sexual health risks were seldom mentioned and the legal risks of sexual interaction with adults were never mentioned. Although app use may meet some of ASMM’s sexual development needs, they may lack the knowledge and skills to do so safely in sexualized online adult spaces. These findings suggest that sex education for sexual minority adolescents should address online sexual safety.
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Acknowledgments
This research was supported by a grant from the Sexualities Project at Northwestern University to Kathryn Macapagal. The authors would like to thank Michael Newcomb, Ph.D., for feedback on an early draft of this manuscript.
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This research was supported by a faculty research grant from the Sexualities Project at Northwestern University to Kathryn Macapagal.
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KJ and KM conceived the study. AK, AKK, JB, DAM, and KM contributed to methodology. KJ, AK, AKK, and KM analyzed and interpreted the data. KJ, AK, and KM contributed to writing—original draft preparation. KJ, AK, AKK, JB, DAM, and KM helped in writing—review and editing. KM acquired the funding.
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Jeremy Birnholtz has worked with Facebook as a paid academic collaborator and received research funding from Facebook on projects unrelated to the present manuscript. All other authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
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All procedures were approved by the Northwestern University institutional review board. The study was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.
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Jozsa, K., Kraus, A., Korpak, A.K. et al. “Safe Behind My Screen”: Adolescent Sexual Minority Males’ Perceptions of Safety and Trustworthiness on Geosocial and Social Networking Apps. Arch Sex Behav 50, 2965–2980 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-01962-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-021-01962-5