, Online platforms that provide social networking opportunities for gay men have transformed from simple forums and websites into sophisticated and highly popular apps like Grindr, Scruff, and Jack’d. The anonymous and disembodied nature of online engagement has created new opportunities for individuals who are questioning their sexual identities to explore and experiment with their own identities. Some scholars have researched how the internet, specifically social media platforms, have helped to normalize queer identities. For many gay men, online spaces serve as sanctuaries to meet other gay men, experiment with their personal identity construction, and cultivate gay communities.
The proliferation of gay online spaces and the opportunity they present to experiment and explore one’s own sexual identity have made online platforms increasingly significant in the social, romantic, and emotional lives of gay men.
