There’s a problem with Tinder and Grindr. It’s not a malfunction with its technology or design, and it’s not a network error. No, it’s far more intimate than that—and dependent on human error. You may have a positive match on Tinder, but he or she may also be positive with gonorrhea, chlamydia or syphilis.
These so-called “hook-up” apps are being blamed for soaring rises in sexually transmitted infections, according to official figures in the U.K., the Daily Mail reports. Gonorrhea cases have jumped up 15% from 25,577 in 2012 to 29,291 in 2013. Peter Greenhouse of the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV said:
‘’You can find, down to a metre or two, the nearest available person who is interested. This is something that just hasn’t been available before…Thanks to Grindr or Tinder, you can acquire chlamydia in five minutes.’
Critics have lambasted the apps for normalizing casual sex among 20- and 30-somethings. What’s particularly concerning is that although chlamydia can be cleared naturally, gonorrhea can be cured with antibiotics, and syphilis with Penicillin, these STIs can cause severe health risks. Chlamydia and gonorrhea can cause infertility in women; and Syphilis can lead to blindness, brain damage, and even death if left untreated.
Smarten up for the sake of your sexual health. Tinder and Grindr may be enabling hyper-efficient connections with men and women near and far, but you’re the one who can prevent the hyper-efficient transmission of STIs.
