Should dating apps have HIV filters?
After
uploading those carefully selected profile photos and writing a well-crafted
personal bio for a dating app, you're now thinking, "What type of person
am I actually looking for?"
Dating
apps and sites offer the option to filter matches by sex, ethnicity, height or
religion -- but they could be even more personal.
This
summer, the gay social networking app Grindr caught some criticism for asking
in a user survey "What is your current HIV status?" and "How
would you feel if Grindr allowed you to filter the guys you see by HIV
status?"
In
a statement, a Grindr representative said the survey is an effort to better
understand its users and to encourage discussions.
"We
have observed a significant increase in user profiles openly discussing their
HIV status and test dates. Given that this has not been a part of our profile
options to date, we are surveying users to determine both their desire to share
this information, and ways to prevent stigma and provide proper support,"
the statement said. "Sometimes this involves asking uncomfortable
questions."
Screenshots
of the survey were posted online by Daniel Reeders, a Ph.D. candidate who studies HIV stigma at
Australian National University. He got the images from a colleague, he said,
and called the filter a "digital quarantine."
"Dating
sites and apps shouldn't ask for HIV status, because there's no way to guarantee
that privacy and safety will be protected for people who disclose they are
positive," Reeders said. "The harassment that 'poz' (HIV-positive)
people face can be extreme, even though it's from a small segment of the
community. People already have the ability to disclose their status in their
profile text, if they choose to do so."
Indeed,
public health and relationship experts suggest that HIV or other STD filters on
a dating app might do more harm than good.
More
harm than good?
Although
an HIV filter could have the benefit of letting HIV-positive people meet others
-- avoiding potentially awkward and stigmatizing conversations -- it also could
have a dark side: creating a false sense of security, said Dr. Eric Schrimshaw,
associate professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia University.
Some
states have laws that mandate the disclosure of HIV status prior to any kind of
sexual activity. But for some, a dating app filter could lead HIV-negative
people to think that the filtered matches consist of only HIV-negative people,
he said. From there, they might engage in unprotected sex.
This
could lead to HIV infections because "one, the potential partner might not
be telling the truth in order to be able to get partners or to avoid stigma,
and also the person may simply have engaged in behaviors recently that result
in status change that they just don't know yet."
Another
concern is that such filters could increase stigma and discrimination against
people living with HIV by further isolating them socially and "demonizing
the population."
"With
more HIV stigma and discrimination, you are going to have less people who will
get tested," said Dr. Gary Harper,
a public health professor at the University of Michigan
Since
most STDs are temporary and treatable, such as gonorrhea and chlamydia, people
are more likely to seek treatment as soon as possible, Harper said; they
wouldn't even think to include them in their dating profiles. But a filter for
any incurable STD, like herpes, could increase stigma, experts said.
Harper
added that imposing a filter on dating app users takes away privacy rights: You
may no longer have control over who can disclose information about your HIV
status on an online network of strangers.
Dating
apps and the rise of STDs
Online
dating sites and mobile dating applications where users can create profiles and
meet with strangers, have become increasingly popular among Americans.
According to the Pew Research Center, about 15% of adults in the United States
are now using online or mobile matchmaking services to seek potential partners,
a 36% increase from 2013.
Some
link the ease of seeking casual sexual partners to the spread of STDs. Last
year, the Rhode Island health department attributed an
increase in STD cases to "using social media to arrange casual and often
anonymous sexual encounters."
A
2013 study found that the usage of Craigslist led
to a 16% increase in HIV cases across 33 states. Lead author Dr. Jason Chan,
an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota, said that although he
would expect HIV cases to rise given the trend in dating app use, as people are
becoming more cautious about sex, HIV might not necessarily spread.
Harper
said the relationship between dating apps and the spread of HIV is more
complicated than one might think. The association could have more
to do with a user's existing tendency to engage in risky sexual behaviors and
the prevalence of HIV and other STDs in one's dating pool and area.
Because
of the complexity of the issue, an HIV filtering feature on dating apps would
not necessarily be an effective prevention measure, said Dr. Renata Sanders, an assistant professor at Johns Hopkins
University School of Medicine.
"There
is no evidence suggesting that by dividing people by their HIV status on a
mobile app where people meet would work to prevent HIV," Sanders said.
"What actually helps prevent HIV is knowing your status and using
effective measures to curb HIV spread such as condoms and
PrEP," a pill that can prevent the virus.
What
are the alternatives?
Instead
of a filter, experts said, it would be better to leave the choice to users.
Letting
users self-report HIV and STD status on their profiles could open up
conversations and prevent misunderstandings that might lead to infection, and
it "helps create a norm or a culture on the app where that's a topic that
gets discussed prior to meeting," said Schrimshaw of Columbia University.
Some
apps, in fact, are already doing that. For example, Hornet, a dating app for
gay men, has a "Know Your Status" feature that allows users to
disclose one of five HIV statuses: "negative," "negative on
PrEP," "positive," "positive undetectable" and
"unknown." The app also allows HIV-positive users to search for other
positive people, but HIV-negative users don't have the ability to look for only
negative users.
Dr. Ian Holloway,
a public affairs professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, said
Hornet's positive-only search feature can be helpful for HIV-positive men to
seek not only partners, but social support and advice. Without giving the
search to HIV-negative men, the feature could prevent users from having a false
sense of security and encourage them to have conversations about HIV with their
partners.
Alex
Garner, Hornet's senior health innovation strategist, said it is an effort to
encourage thoughtful conversation about HIV and gay men's sexual health and to
"bridge the divide between HIV-positive and -negative people."
Dating
apps and sites can play a powerful role in raising awareness about HIV And STD
prevention without fueling stigmas or discrimination, researchers said.
For
example, Holloway's 2013 study found that more than 80% of Grindr users in
Southern California are willing to participate in HIV prevention programs
delivered online or through mobile apps. The study suggests that apps with
geolocating features may consider providing quick reference to nearby HIV
testing locations as a way to encourage more men to get tested, raise awareness
and help facilitate access to community services.
Another
recent study found that Grindr was an effective
way to give out HIV self-test kits to men at risk of infection
and reduce the spread of HIV.
Sanders,
the Johns Hopkins professor, thinks it is good practice for apps and sites to
send out alerts and information about HIV and STD prevention and treatment,
such as how often one should get tested for which kinds of STD and what should
get checked when going to see a doctor.
Want to send us a story? SMS to 25170 or WhatsApp 0743570000 or Submit on Citizen Digital or email wananchi@royalmedia.co.ke
Comments
No comments yet.
Leave a Comment