Do smartphone apps facilitating easy meetups for casual sex with near-strangers increase risky sexual behavior? For most people, the answer might be "probably." For the federal government, though, the answer is, "Let's spend nearly half a million dollars to find out."
An NIH grant of $432,000 awarded to Columbia University funded a study to this effect last year. Researchers interviewed gay men who use hookup apps like Grindr, which use geolocating to help users find potential sexual partners nearby. Unsurprisingly, the study found that these apps do lead users to more — and riskier — hookups.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
