What does it say about us that people are blaming dating apps for STI’s?
Using technology on a social level has led to increased communication between our friends and family as well as meet new people.
The use of social media in our daily lives has an unusually high impact effect on the way we date today.
Though the ease at which social media and dating apps lets us socialize and date are considered a blessing by a lot of people, others are sure that dating apps are ruining relationships and in some extreme cases, aid skyrocket the spread of sexually transmitted infections.
The blame on dating sites and apps to some people is unfounded while some people have given a list of reasons as to why they believe that the flexibility in the online dating ‘sphere is the number one cause of STI's.
Some people believe that just like some people tend to get easily carried away with certain things once they have too much access to it, social media is the current drug both sexes are addicted to.
The access to a large number of good looking men and women on social media and dating sites in this era of selfies is feared to be the leading cause of infidelity, indiscriminate casual sex and a host of other ‘undesirable' behaviors.
Let's talk about single people for a moment, personal experiences and research has shown that people tend to be bolder than they are in real life online, hence the ease at which it is to approach and get to know new people. In real life probably, most of these wildfire characters on the internet might be less sociable or bold to do and say the things they do online to the opposite sex and same which generally does lead to casual sex.
Another angle is the case of probably talking to more than one person online at the same time, getting to know them, casually dating them to see where it goes, and to a lot of people, dating on whatever level has to include sex.
The case of spreading STI’s through infidelity is mostly chucked up to the fact that in most relationships today, people aren't as keen on working on their relationships as they were in the past because with the prevalence of dating apps and social media in general, people are very carried away by the options they think they have on social media.
A 2015 study conducted in Rhode Island showed that dating apps like tinder and grinder contributed to the spike in the spread of HIV, gonorrhea, and syphilis by up to 33%, 30%, and 79% respectively.
The study claims that dating apps like stated above and more were triggering high-risk behaviors in both men and women like having unprotected sex with the random strangers they meet via these sites.
Some other people blame dating apps in the sense that they hardly ever try to create any form of protected sex awareness even though they know firsthand that casual sex is mostly what theirs sites are used for.
This blame on dating apps are so bad that a lot of people automatically consider people who use these sites wayward because to them, people who try to date online instead of traditionally meeting love interests in person are looking to have flings/casual sex and nothing else.
These accusations go a long way to tell who we are as a people. The need to blame everything and everyone else when there is a problem is the first line of defense for most people.
The only cause of the increased spread of STI's ,are people who engage in unprotected casual sex. These people would still act in the same irresponsible manner even when it comes to dating offline.
The blame directed at dating sites and their owners are wholly unfounded and silly. We are talking about two adults consenting to unprotected casual sex hence whatever the outcome of that action is, both consenting adults should be the only parties held responsible.
