Page 320 - ILIAS ATHANASIADIS AKA RO1

I am all for sexual liberation, but I can’t stop wondering if these apps also have a

negative effect on gay men’s mental health.

Since there’s little published research on the men using Grindr, I decided to
conduct an informal survey and ask men why they’re on the app so much and

how it’s affecting their relationships and mental health.

I created a profile identifying myself as a medical writer looking to talk to men
about their experiences. I received about 50 responses (including propositions).

It’s a small sample size, but enough to give us so

Apps like Grindr are designed to make finding

sex easy. And that can make them hard to stop

using.

The most common reason users gave for going on the app is that sex feels great

and Grindr makes it accessible, right at your fingertips.

The screen full of half-naked men excites users. With a few clicks, there’s a
possibility of meeting a sexual partner within the hour.

Neuroscientists have shown that orgasm causes activation of pleasure areas of the

brain like the ventral tegmental area while deactivating areas involved with self-
control.

And these patterns of activation in men are strikingly similar to what researchers
see in the brain of individuals using heroin or cocaine.

So when a neutral action (clicking on Grindr) is paired with a pleasurable
response in the brain (orgasm), humans learn to do that action over and over
again.

This can be a normal pleasure response or it could be a setup for addiction,
depending on the situation and individual.