Torres said it helps to have honest conversations with teens: What does it mean to have sex? If sex is going to happen, with whom should it happen? When should it happen? What are the risks, and how can you best protect yourself? “And there are places like Center on Halsted where young people can meet other young people and entertain themselves in a healthy environment and develop skills, and it’s supervised.” “If parents have good communication with children and know that their children want to meet more people like them, and they can meet that need, then the app becomes less necessary,” he said. This may have parents feeling they have little to no control over the situation, but Torres said they do have control over communication. The study also highlights just how little parents, educators and health care providers know about how teens spend their time on apps and online technology that is constantly changing. “The sooner we understand the role these apps play in the lives of gay and bisexual teen guys, the sooner we will be able to tailor sex education and HIV prevention efforts for this population and help them live healthier lives.” “Gay and bisexual adolescent boys account for almost two-thirds of HIV infections among teenagers in the United States, but unfortunately sex education and HIV prevention tailored to their needs is almost nonexistent,” Macapagal said. For example, the study found that teenage boys who used the apps were more likely to seek out important sexual health services, such as HIV testing.
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Grindr encourages anyone aware of any illegal or improper activity on the app to submit a report either within the app or via email.”Īs with any social media site teenagers use, there are benefits and drawbacks. Grindr services are only available for adults. When asked about the study results, Grindr offered this statement: “ Grindr does not condone illegal or improper behavior and we are troubled that an underage person may have been using our app in violation of our terms of service. “The sex or hooking up apps are scary because of their bluntness and access, yet Facebook, Snapchat and other apps are often used the same way. “Sexuality in adolescence is such a force that, no matter what we do, it’s going to happen,” he said. He said it’s too easy for less scrupulous apps to jump in and serve LGBTQ teens. At the very least, maybe you'll make a friend who ~gets you~ in a way your other besties don't.But Torres cautioned that pressing for better youth protections on hookup apps, is probably a losing game.
BEST GAY DATING SITES FOR UNDER 18 DOWNLOAD
(Trust the writer: I met my last three girlfriends and two of my closest queer friends on dating apps! I'm a big fan.) So, give yourself a pep-talk, blast some Hayley Kiyoko or Janelle Monáe, and download one of the best dating apps for lesbians and queer folks. Plus, she says, lesbian dating apps give queer folks a way to make other queer friends without having to jet off to cities with big queer community.
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(Related: What It's Really Like To Come Out, According To 4 Women)
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“Online dating has given the queer community the opportunity to date and flirt, without the risks of having to come out to someone who’s potential dangerous,” says Sarah Sloane, a sex educator who's been coaching queer sex classes at Good Vibrations and Pleasure Chest since 2001. That’s where queer and lesbian dating apps come in, and thankfully, there are more available to download than ever. But queer dating has the additional hurdles of having come out to someone (ugh) and decipher whether they play for your team ( double ugh).
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Finding ~a match~ isn't a walk in the park for anyone.