These features might be appealing to gay and bisexual adolescent boys who are not as open about their sexual identity, who have a smaller pool of potential partners compared to their heterosexual peers and who are navigating dating and sex with same-gender partners for the first time. The apps provide users with a virtual networking space specifically for gay and bisexual men and overcome the need to figure out a potential partner's or friend's sexuality. It is the first known study to document that gay and bisexual teenage boys use sex and dating apps designed for adult men to find male partners. The study was published today, May 18, in the Journal of Adolescent Health. It also was common for these teens to use the apps to connect with friends and find new gay, bisexual and queer friends and boyfriends, which sheds new light on who uses adult male hookup apps and why. CHICAGO - Although hookup apps require users to be 18 or older, a new Northwestern Medicine study found that more than 50 percent of sexually active gay and bisexual boys ages 14 to 17 met male sexual partners on apps such as Grindr and Scruff.
