“Before [Internet-based social media], if you were interested in sexual activity outside of marriage, there was a fear factor if you went somewhere you’d be seen. [But now], you click a few buttons and meet at a hotel.”UPDATE 1/26/16: STD Epidemic Largely Caused by Millennials' iPhone & Sex Addictions
-- Lynn Beltran, Epidemiologist, Salt Lake County STD clinic
For background, click headlines below to read previous articles:
Fictional 'Safe Sex' - Government Losing War on STDs
HIV Rates Rise Among Homosexual Men: Federal Study
Soaring Syphilis Rates Among Homosexual Men Point to HIV Risk
New Aggressive HIV Strain Spreading AIDS Worldwide
CDC Report Shows Most HIV Homosexual Men Have Unprotected Sex
The Only 'Safe Gays' are Celibate Gays, Says U.S. FDA
Also read Education Experts Say: Relax Parents, Sexting is Simply How Kids Flirt Today
-- From "Tinder and hookup apps blamed for rise in STDs" by David Goldman, CNN 5/26/15
Between 2013 and 2014, cases of syphilis grew by 79%. HIV infections were up 33% and gonorrhea cases increased by 30%. STD cases for young adults are growing at a faster rate than the rest of the population.
Rhode Island says the recent uptick in STD cases follows a national trend. The state's health department blamed "high-risk behaviors that have become more common in recent years," including "using social media to arrange casual and often anonymous sexual encounters."
A 2013 New York University study found that Craigslist was responsible for a 16% increase in HIV cases between 1999 and 2008 across 33 states. Grinder, a hookup app for gay men, was associated with more than half of all syphilis cases in New Zealand in 2012, according to Christchurch Sexual Health Clinic.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "RI: Hookup apps to blame for sharp rise in STD rates" by Matt Jaworowski, Media General National Desk 5/28/15
“The recent uptick in STDs in Rhode Island follows a national trend,” HEALTH said in a press release. “The increase has been attributed to better testing by (health care) providers and to high-risk behaviors that have become more common in recent years … (including) using social media to arrange casual and often anonymous sexual encounters.”
HEALTH indicated syphilis cases increased by 79 percent from 2013 to 2014, while gonorrhea cases rose by 30 percent.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Are dating apps to blame for an increase in STDs?" by Tony Bravo, San Francisco Chronicle 5/27/15
In the report, the [Rhode Island health] department stated that they believe this is reflective of a national trend. They also warned that even though infection rates are up across the board, new cases of HIV and syphilis continue to increase among gay and bisexual men at a faster rate than in other parts of the population.
One of the contributing factors in this increase, cited by Dr. Rosemary Gillespie, chief executive at the UK-based Terrence Higgins Trust, is the rise in dating app usage (like Tinder and Grindr) over the past five years and users engaging in casual and often unsafe sex, saying “Dating apps have given people more opportunities to meet potential partners than ever before, and we are currently looking at their impact on gay men’s sexual health.”
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Swipe right for STDs: Doctors say hookup apps increase infection rates" by CNN Wire 5/6/15
Thanks, in part, to a growing use of “hookup” apps, doctors say they have seen rates of sexually transmitted diseases skyrocket over the past couple years.
Apps like Tinder, Down and Grindr could be partly responsible for gonorrhea rates in Utah being up in women more than 700 percent, they use as an example.
The numbers don’t lie, and gonorrhea rates jumped nearly 400 percent from 2011-2014. Men have seen a 300 percent increase, while rates among women have surged an incredible 714 percent.
The state [of Utah] is now rushing to stop this alarming trend by bumping up its annual conference scheduled for the fall and meeting with doctors from across the state in mid-May to brainstorm solutions.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Report: Tinder To Blame For Rise In STDs" by Josh Fatzick, Reporter, Daily Caller 5/26/15
New cases of AIDS and HIV continued to increase faster among gay and bisexual men than in any of the other populations, while infection rates of all STDs continued to impact blacks and Hispanics more than others.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Tinder and Grindr dating apps 'are causing cases of syphilis, gonorrhoea and HIV to soar', experts claim" by Lizzie Parry, UK Daily Mail 5/27/15
Dr Rosemary Gillespie, chief executive at the UK-based Terrence Higgins Trust, said dating apps have a role to play in warning users of the dangers of practising unsafe sex.
She told MailOnline: 'Dating apps have given people more opportunities to meet potential partners than ever before, and we are currently looking at their impact on gay men's sexual health.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
From "Are dating apps causing a spike in STDs?" by Stephanie Bechara, Reporter, WCJB-TV20 (Gainesville, FL) 5/7/15
A study conducted by the Los Angeles LGBT Center revealed that those who participated in casual sex through online dating apps had a 37 percent greater incidence of getting STDs compared to those who met their partners in a bar or the gym.
While the Alachua County Health Department does not track the number of patients who have received an STD after meeting someone online, their records show that back in 2012—before these apps became mainstream—there were more than 950 cases of STDs from January to May. For the same period in 2015, the numbers increased by about 5 percent.
"When you look at any situation, regardless of where you meet someone, there are ways to protect yourself. Abstinence is the 100 percent way to prevent the spread of STDs. You want monogamous relationships, you want to get tested with your partners before engaging in sexual activity," said Larissa Cantlin-Plemons, Alachua County Health Department STD Program Manager.
To read the entire article above, CLICK HERE.
Also read Anal Sex Pill Pushed in Gay Men Study to Stop HIV
