Sexually transmitted diseases are on the rise in the US, with health officials pointing the finger at casual sex arranged through social media. In addition to dating apps, they blame promiscuity, drugs, alcohol and failure to use condoms.
A report by the Rhode Island Department of Health
pointed at the alarming rise of STDs in the state between 2013
and 2014, with gonorrhea up 30 percent, HIV infections up by 33
percent, and syphilis soaring a shocking 79 percent.
“New cases of HIV and syphilis continued to increase among
gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men at a faster
rate than in other populations,” the report noted, adding
that “infection rates of all STDs continued to have a greater
impact on the African-American, Hispanic, and young adult
populations.”
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While better testing partly explains the increase, health
officials also highlighted “high-risk behaviors that have
become more common in recent years,” such as “using
social media to arrange casual and often anonymous sexual
encounters.”
Other risky behavior factors were: “Having sex without a
condom, having multiple sex partners, and sex while under the
influence of drugs or alcohol.”
Rhode Island officials say their alarming STD rates are part of a
trend throughout the US. Although the latest statistics from
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are from
2013, there have been reports of spikes in HIV and syphilis from
New York and Texas to Utah.
According to CDC data for the period between 2001 and 2011,
published in the Journal of the American Medical Association
(JAMA), the rate of HIV infection dropped by 30 percent for the
general population, but rose by 132.5 percent for the “gay
and bisexual men between the ages of 13 and 24.”
An STD clinic in Salt Lake County, Utah, has
started asking patients about specific contact apps. Lynn
Beltran, an epidemiologist at the clinic, told ABC she was not
surprised to see a rise in STDs.
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“It’s been the perfect storm,” said Beltran. “Our
attitude kind of shifted, where it became more acceptable to
engage in casual sex.”
Beltran said she had seen an uptick in syphilis and gonorrhea
rates, and that many of the newly diagnosed patients said they
were sexually active through dating apps.
Anthony Hayes, managing director of public affairs and policy for
the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, told ABC News social media wasn’t to
blame so much as “our failure to provide young people with
comprehensive, effective sex education and access to
condoms” and affordable medical care.
Between 2003 and 2009, when prostitution wasn’t illegal in Rhode
Island due to a clerical error, the state registered a 39-percent
decrease in gonorrhea infections among women. A 2014 study by the
National Bureau of Economic Research also found a 31-percent
decrease in the number of rapes reported to the police.