Tinder, Grinder & social media linked to rise in STD infection rates
The growth in popularity of digital dating apps such as Tinder has been linked to a rise in infection rates for sexually transmitted diseases, according to Rhode Island’s department of health.
The public body found that instances of syphilis increased by 79 per cent between 2013 and 2014 with HIV cases up by 33 per cent and gonorrhoea rising by 30 per cent. Moreover cases amongst young adults are rising far faster than in the population at large.
In a statement outlining why this should be Rhode Island laid the blame squarely at ‘high-risk behaviors that have become more common in recent years’ and specifically blamed the use of ‘social media to arrange casual and often anonymous sexual encounters.’
Previous studies have linked other platforms to a deterioration in sexual health, notably a 2013 New York University report which pointed the finger at Craigslist for a 16 per cent uplift in HIV rates between 1999 and 2008 across 33 states.
More recently Christchurch Sexual Health Clinic blamed gay hook-up app Grinder as a factor in half of all syphilis cases in New Zealand in 2012