Release date: 2015-12-02

On December 1, according to a recent UN report, the frequent use of mobile dating applications is an important factor in the surge in HIV infection among young males in Asia.

The report shows that although the number of HIV infections is decreasing globally, HIV infection rates among adolescents aged 10 to 19 are rising in the Asia Pacific region. Half of the world's 1.2 billion young people live in the Asia Pacific region, so this situation should be taken seriously.

The two-year study found that smartphone dating applications provide unprecedented convenience for spontaneous, sloppy behavior.

HIV is the fastest spread among male populations who have sex with same sex. Other groups include victims of sexual exploitation or sex workers, injecting drug users and young trans people.

“There are always young gay men telling us that they are now using mobile dating apps to find sexual partners, so they will have more sloppy sex with more people.” UNICEF East Asia and Pacific HIV/AIDS Consultant Wing-SieCheng Say.

“So we believe there is a link between the two, so we need to work better with mobile app developers to share HIV-related information and protect the health of young people.”

The United Nations has set a goal of ending the global AIDS crisis by 2030. The number of people living with HIV has decreased significantly over the past 15 years, making this goal more viable, but the current situation of HIV infection among young people in Asia has increased the achievement of this goal. obstacle.

Researchers at UNICEF and UNAIDS believe that because teenagers are less willing to seek medical care, fear that they will be ridiculed, or expose their sexual orientation, they are more likely to die of AIDS. In many countries in the Asia Pacific region, minors are not eligible for HIV testing without parental permission.

UNICEF pointed out that although the number of people living with HIV worldwide is declining, the number of HIV-infected adolescents aged 10-19 in the Asia-Pacific region has grown to more than 220,000, and the unofficial estimate is even higher. Less than half of them are receiving treatment, and the number of deaths has risen almost every year in the past decade.

According to UNAIDS, 18 countries in the Asia-Pacific region have criminalized same-sex relationships, which has made homosexual men evade HIV treatment.

Another study last year found that men who searched for sexual partners through dating applications were at higher risk of getting gonorrhea and chlamydia than others.

UNICEF consultant Wing-SieCHeng said the dating application created a network of relationships for these male users, and HIV spread quickly among users. “The mobile dating app will connect you to this network.”

She said the researchers found that "with the rise of these applications, the chances and risks of infection will increase because it makes it easier to date and have sex with others."

However, the UN report says these dating applications can also be an important way to promote sexual health knowledge, such as promoting HIV prevention knowledge and HIV testing channels. The report mentioned that on World AIDS Day last year, China's same-sex dating application Blued added a red ribbon logo to each user's personal avatar and informed the user of the nearest HIV testing center.

Wing-SieCheng said that UNAIDS will contact mobile dating application developers in the coming months to work together to address current trends and collect data to further investigate the impact of dating applications.

AIDS has become the leading cause of death among adolescents in Africa and the second leading cause of death among adolescents worldwide. The number of adolescents dying of AIDS has tripled in the past 15 years, mainly due to mother-to-child transmission. However, a public health official warned that the spread of AIDS among Asian teenagers may also occur elsewhere in the future.

Source: Tencent Technology

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