Chemsex and Digital Relationships: Virtual Pleasure, Real Danger
摘要
Chemsex, which means the use of psychoactive substances in a sexual context, is reported in Men who have Sex with Men (MSM). This sexual behavior seems closely associated with virtual relationships, digital tools and dating applications. We carried out a narrative literature review on the links between these behaviors.
Recent FindingsA majority of papers have described an association between sexually-transmitted infectious diseases, and the use of dating applications, with a greater number of sexual partners, infectious diseases whereas contradictory results concerning sex without condoms were reported. The use of geolocalized dating applications was associated with a higher frequency of substance use disorder and chemsex behavior. The use of social networks, videoconference tools and cyberpornography were also associated with chemsex.
SummaryThe development of chemsex was partly linked to the availability of virtual sexual encounters via dating applications and took advantage of all forms of virtual relationships to disseminate. These virtual tools do not solely have harmful consequences on sexual behavior but can also be used for education and prevention.