According to this article, a number of studies have found a connection between gay men using the Internet to find sex and a greater risk of sexually transmittedinfections (STIs) (including HIV). To explore this trend, investigators provided 150 gay men attending a United States sex resort in the summer of 2002 with a questionnaire designed to assess STI-associated risk behaviours. Demographic data were also collected, including HIV status and whether not men were currently in a primary relationship. The men recruited to the study had a median age of a little over 40 years, most were white (93), and 16.7% were HIV-positive.

Published in the December 2003 edition of Sexually Transmitted Infections, this study found that gay men who use the Internet to seek sex are no more likely to have unprotected anal sex than non-Internet users (53% versus 45.8%, p=0.39). However, gay men using the Internet to meet sexual partners may have a modestly higher risk of being infected with an STI, given their greater likelihood of using certain recreational drugs and having group sex. That is, gay men who used the Internet to find sex were more likely to engage in fisting (22.4% versus 6.8%, p=01) and have group sex (78.8% versus 44.1%, p=0.0001). Further, "Internet cruisers" are more likely to have used drugs during sex, and to have met sexual partners at multiple venues, including saunas, bars, in parks, in public toilets, and at circuit parties.

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