title: Faster and Riskier? Online Context of Sex Seeking Among Men Who Have Sex With Men in China.
abstract: Many men who have sex with men (MSM) seek sex partners online, creating barriers and opportunities for human immunodeficiency virus prevention. The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of MSM and the risks associated with seeking sex through websites, gay apps, and both platforms in China.
  
  
  
  Data were collected through a cross-sectional online survey from September through October 2014 from 3 large gay Web portals. Sociodemographic information, sexual behaviors, and online sex seeking behaviors were measured. Multinomial logistic regression was performed to compare sexual risk behaviors among website users, gay app users, and men who used both platforms.
  
  
  
  Of the 1201 participants, 377 (31.4%) were website-only users, 487 (40.5%) were gay app-only users, and 337 (28.0%) were men who used both platforms. These 3 MSM subgroups have distinct sociodemographic characteristics. Overall, 57.6% of participants reported having engaged in condomless anal sex with their last male partner in the past 6 months, but there was no significant difference in condomless sex between the 3 groups. Men who used both platforms viewed more sexually transmitted disease-related messages than website-only users (adjusted odds ratio, 2.19; 95% confidence interval, 1.57-3.05).
  
  
  
  Condom usage behaviors were unaffected by the medium through which sexual partners were found. However, the high frequency of condomless sex suggests that websites and gay apps are both risk environments. This study suggests using multiple platforms for human immunodeficiency virus/sexually transmitted disease social media interventions may be useful.
authors.affiliation: From the *University of North Carolina Project-China, Guangdong Provincial Centers for Skin Diseases and STI Control; †SESH (Social Entrepreneurship for Sexual Health) Global; ‡STD Control Department, Guangdong Provincial Centers for Skin Diseases and STI Control, Guangzhou, China; §College of Arts and Sciences, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC; and ¶Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, PA.
authors.forename: Bolin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cao
authors.forename: Chuncheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Gabriella
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Stein
authors.forename: Weiming
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Best
authors.forename: Ye
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Bin
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Shujie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Chongyi
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.forename: Joseph D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Tucker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002681:China; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012747:Sexual Partners / Q000523:psychology; D000072339:Sexual and Gender Minorities / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires