A Narrative Review of Internet Use, Interpersonal Connectedness, and Sexual Behaviour Among Gay, Bisexual and Other Men Who Have Sex With Men

ABSTRACT

Researchers have often considered the impact that online dating has had on gay communities; with some arguing that changes in social behavior may impact the spread of HIV. However, these conclusions are based on the premise that the Internet has fundamentally changed the way gay and bisexual men connect with their communities. Addressing this issue, we searched the PubMed and Web of Science databases for studies examining Internet use and interpersonal connectedness among gay and bisexual men to determine whether those who used the Internet to find sexual partners exhibited different patterns of community connectedness. Though sporadic, findings suggest that Internet use may be associated with lower gay identity, community attachment, and social embeddedness. However, recent reports have suggested that online sex seeking might be associated with greater, not less, interpersonal connectedness. We conclude that additional longitudinal analyses and consistent measurement of gay men’s social behavior are needed to draw more definite conclusions.

KEYWORDS:

• Gay and bisexual men
• Internet
• HIV prevention
• online dating
• cultural risk theory
• social connectedness
• community

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

KGC is supported by a University Without Walls/Engage Fellowship award, a Canadian HIV Trials Network/Canadian Foundation for AIDS Research Postdoctoral Fellowship award, a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Trainee award, and a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Health Systems Impact Fellowship award. NJL is supported by a Michael Smith Foundation for Health Research Scholar award. RSH is supported by a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Foundation award (FDN-143342).