Only 25 percent use condoms consistently. Sixty-nine percent of them have had sex with someone they met through these apps. They have failed to protect minors, who simply have to subtract a few years from their birth date to create a profile.ĭata from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a new study in The Journal of Adolescent Health together suggest that roughly one in four gay and bisexual boys aged 14 to 17 in the United States are on gay hookup apps designed for adults (Grindr, Scruff, Jack’d, Adam4Adam). But most online social networks for gay men are geared toward adults and focused on sex. It’s normal for these kids to want to explore intimacy. It’s common for gay, bisexual or questioning minors to go online to meet other gay people. The victim’s father broke down in court, saying, “The man sitting here, he destroyed my life, my kid’s life, my family life.” Gross on the gay hookup app Grindr and that they had met for sex before. positive, in a nearby backyard.Īuthorities later learned that the teenager had met Mr. A police officer apprehended Eugene Gross, who was 51 years old and H.I.V. He yelled that a man had broken into the house and raped him. Last summer in Wisconsin, a mother came home to find her 15-year-old son running up the stairs from their basement.