Rhode Island officials blame apps like Tinder for spike in STDs
The Ocean State wants you to swipe left more often.
Tinder, and other online dating apps like it, are being blamed for the state’s rise in cases of sexually transmitted diseases.
The Rhode Island Department of Health attributes the spike in STDs in part to “high-risk behaviors that have become more common in recent years,’’ which include “using social media to arrange casual and often anonymous sexual encounters.’’ From 2013 to 2014, the number of infectious syphilis cases in the state increased by 79 percent, while the number of gonorrhea cases increased by 30 percent, according to the state.
Rhode Island’s health department is the second to call out apps that help people hook up. In May, Utah officials cited the apps for an increase in STD cases
In making it clear that Rhode Island was not alone, officials there also pointed out that the recent uptick in STDs “ follows a national trend,’’ and is a result of a combination of “attributed to better testing by providers and to high-risk behaviours that have become more common in recent years.’’
Despite a rise in STD cases and potential partners being more accessible, Rhode Island and Utah aren’t calling for users to stop swiping. Rather, officials hope Tinder users (and everyone else, really) take the time to communicate more openly with potential partners, regardless of where they meet.
“We need to talk more about condom use,’’ Lynn Beltran, epidemiologist at the Salt Lake County STD clinic, told KUTV.com. “We need to fight to keep up with what social media has done to sexual activity in our communities.’’
In addition to dating apps, the Rhode Island report cites “having sex without a condom, having multiple sex partners, and having sex while under the influence of drugs or alcohol’’ as high-risk behaviors that could lead to STDs.
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