Quick summary
The internet gives gay men a safer space to express identity and seek relationships in ways that can be harder in the physical world, with Facebook becoming a key space for both direct and indirect sexual identity disclosure. This article summarizes the research background on gay men's digital lifestyles, with a link to the full academic paper.
The current development of information and communication technology at the individual level creates “Digital Life” modern life connected by digital communication. causing changes in social ways, work ways, family ways, and cultural ways and helps the process of communication between humans in many forms
The advancement of technology has reached the point where the lifestyle Business operations and the world economy has changed drastically New technologies emerging such as wireless internet It has the potential to change lifestyles.
In addition, the Internet has greatly benefited gay men. This is because the representation of “male (gay)” identity in reality is mostly expressed in private or group-specific areas. Gay men will reveal themselves in all areas where they feel safe or trusted by those around them.
However, some groups of MSM Unable to reveal one's gender identity Therefore, space on the internet is used for various activities because it is a space where everyone can customize their identity and choose to express themselves as they wish. Therefore, people come to find friends, find lovers, find sex, or buy-sell sexual services on the internet. This is difficult to do in the real world. Because some people have to maintain their social status
Regular internet use by gay men. Especially using Facebook. It has become a part of daily life that can reflect the sexual identity of gay men very well.
In the past, people would directly reveal their sexual identity verbally. and indirectly through behavior But nowadays gay men can reveal themselves directly by posting a message announcing to the public that “I am gay” or set in the basic information section that “I am interested in men,” which will let viewers know their sexual orientation. It is an indirect self-revelation.
Another notable point is that in 2015, ETDA surveyed internet behavior by gender and found that third-gender respondents spent the most hours online compared with men and women. Facebook was their most-used social network. Overall, third-gender respondents used the internet more than men and women, especially Facebook.
This background led the researcher to study the lifestyles and Facebook self-disclosure of gay men. As internet access reached half of the world's population, it brought many changes. Facebook ranked first among the media used by gay men and also enabled them to reveal their sexual identity both directly and indirectly.
Read the academic articleLifestyle and Self-Disclosure on Facebook among Gay Men here Click