Us researchers warn that the use of sex apps on Smart phones can increase the risk of STD’s

Control of their sexual health

The study’s objective was to find out the impact of the applications that use the location of smart phones to help you find sexual contacts, such as Grindr and Scruff. 7,184 men that attended the LA Gay and Lesbian Centre sexual health clinic were interviewed to carry out the research.

The results that were collected showed that the men that used these applications were 23% more likely to get gonorrhea and 35% more likely to get infected with chlamydia than the men who use other websites or who go to sexual contact clubs. With regards to HIV, there was no difference between the two groups that were studied.

The study concluded that these new technologies are more advanced in relation to the efficiency of meeting new anonymous sexual partners quickly and easily. But they also have an unwanted effect being that the users of these sex applications can be more at risk of getting STD’s.

For Dr Steve Taylor, a sexual health and HIV medical consultant at Birmingham Heartlands Hospital, this situation “is something that we are definitely seeing in our sexual health and HIV clinics, just as much in homosexual men as in heterosexual men”. “Without doubt, technology is aiding rapid partner changing and hence is the perfect environment for STD’S and HIV to spread.”

Part of the problem is the type of sexual contact that these fast, easy and anonymous apps favour, situations that don’t favour safe and protected sexual relations.

Amidst this situation it is important to make awareness campaigns about practising safe sex and the use of condoms as the most effective contraceptive method to avoid unprotected relations that increase the risk of infection. Therefore it is recommended that all the users of these applications go for periodical sexual health checks in order to know their HIV status and be in control of their sexual health.