Gay Dating Apps in China: Do They Alleviate or Exacerbate Loneliness? The Serial Mediation Effect of Perceived and Internalized Sexuality Stigma

ABSTRACT

Gay dating apps have become increasingly popular and been intensively used. However, studies that closely examine the effects of gay dating app usage on mental health outcomes are few. This study tackles an unsolved question on whether gay dating apps alleviate or exacerbate loneliness through perceptions of sexuality stigma. A cross-sectional online survey from 371 Chinese gay or bisexual men found that the intensity of gay dating app usage is positively associated with loneliness. The association between gay dating app usage intensity and loneliness is sequentially mediated by perceived sexuality stigma and internalized sexuality stigma. That is, increased intensity of gay dating app usage strengthens perceived sexuality stigma, which in turn reinforces internalized sexuality stigma, further exacerbating loneliness. This study echoes the “alone together” phenomena and uncovers the feasibility of using stigma perceptions as a mechanism to understand the mental health of gay dating app users.

KEYWORDS:

• Gay
• bisexual
• dating apps
• sexual minority
• loneliness
• stigma
• China

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the participants who contributed to the study.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data reported in this manuscript can be approached through contacting the corresponding author.

Supplementary material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed on the publisher’s website.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the National Social Science Funds of China (19ZDA324 & 18CXW017) and by the Foundation for Distinguished Research Groups in Higher Education of Guangdong, China (2018WCXTD015).