Sex-seeking on the internet and mobile-based applications among young people in China: An online survey

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate young people’s risk behaviors in use of social network applications for sexual purposes. Snowball sampling technique was used to recruit participants online. Logistic regressions were performed to examine interrelationships among risk behaviors and sex-seeking platforms (A, B, C, D, and others). The prevalence of online sex-seeking was 22.2% (1156/5199) among people with sexual experience, and the most debut online sex-seeking happened in 15–24 years old in both men and women (79.8%, 590/739 vs 86.1%, 359/417). The risk behaviors varied in different platforms among 730 young people age 15–24 years. Among men, participants seeking sex via B were more likely to engage in concurrent sexual partnership (aOR: 1.64; 95% CI: 1.01–2.66). Participants seeking sex via C were more likely to engage in drug use (aOR: 1.74; 95% CI: 1.01–3.02) and condomless sex (aOR: 1.75; 95% CI: 1.04–2.95). Participants seeking sex via A, C, or D were all less likely to have homosexual behaviors. Among women, participants seeking sex via B were more likely to have condomless sex (aOR: 2.06; 95% CI: 1.10–3.86). The study indicated that emerging of the HIV epidemic in young people might be driven by risk behaviors during online sex-seeking. Effective intervention programs need to target on different social network platforms.