“Not playing that game”: An Exploratory Study of Queer Men’s Health Information Behavior on Location-Aware Dating and Sex-Seeking Mobile Applications

The present study seeks to determine how location-aware mobile dating and sex-seeking applications manipulate, complicate, contribute to or develop the landscape of the health information environment for queer men, specifically focusing on information around human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP). The study used purposive sampling to recruit 8 participants who are male, have sex with men, and use mobile phone applications that are marketed primarily to queer men (e.g. Grindr, Scruff, Jack’d). Within the sample of this study, health information sharing related to sexual health information needs, such as HIV status, PrEP usage, and current sexual health, seem to be normalized. Further, this information, which is easily accessible via categorical input fields on dating application profiles, is important for making decisions about interacting with individuals on applications. Finally, negotiating sex with other individuals on dating or sex-seeking applications leads to discussions involving the exchange of health information.Master of Science in Library Scienc