<p class="BodyBembo">
<p class="BodyBembo">"Thought I should let you know - I've tested
positive for chlamydia."
<p class="BodyBembo">It's the WhatsApp message no one wants to see
pop up on their phone after a hot date. But it's exactly what
greeted Janelle, 24, from Brighton, when her phone flashed during a
work meeting, a few days after she'd had unprotected sex with a guy
she'd met via Tinder. "I totally freaked out," Janelle says. "I
felt really embarrassed, but confided in my colleagues so I could
leave work and go to an emergency sexual health clinic."
<p class="BodyBembo">Dating apps have revolutionised how we meet -
and sleep with - people. As of July 2015, Tinder had made 9 billion
matches. For Janelle, like so many of us, Tinder gave her both the
confidence and means to go after the kind of no-strings sex she
wanted. "I'd split with my ex of six years and was keen to take
advantage of my newfound singledom, and experiment with other
people," she says. "For about six months, I went on a stream of
Tinder dates."
<p class="BodyBembo">But as dating apps make casual hook-ups easier
and more acceptable, experts are concerned they could be affecting
our sexual health - and leading to a surge in STI cases.
<p class="BodyBembo">"Put simply, the quicker you can turn over
partners, the more likely you are to pick up infections," says
Peter Greenhouse, a sexual health consultant for the NHS and
chairman of the British Association for Sexual Health & HIV
(BASHH) Media Committee. "What dating apps do is give you a simpler
and quicker way of meeting people and then having a better chance
that you can, to say it politely, get down to business with
them."
<p class="BodyBembo">At the moment, there is only hard evidence
linking dating apps and increased STI rates in men having sex with
men. A US survey found that gay men using apps to find partners
were 23% more likely to have gonorrhoea, and 35% more likely to
have chlamydia, than those who met online or in clubs.
<p class="BodyBembo">In response to the study, Dr Steve Taylor, a
consultant in sexual health and HIV medicine at Birmingham
Heartlands Hospital, said: "This is definitely something we are
seeing in our sexual health and HIV clinics, both among gay men and
heterosexuals. Without a doubt, technology has facilitated rapid
partner change and therefore it is a perfect environment for
sexually transmitted infections and HIV to spread."
<p class="BodyBembo">"We only need people to get keener on the
dating apps, and less careful with condoms, and we could get into
real trouble," says Peter Greenhouse. In 2014, there were
approximately 444,000 STI diagnoses made in England. By far the
most commonly diagnosed was chlamydia, which accounted for 47% of
all diagnoses. The scary thing is, it often has no symptoms. If
caught early, it can be treated with antibiotics. But if left, it
can spread and cause long-term health problems, such as pelvic
inflammatory disease and infertility.
<p class="BodyBembo">Annie, 29, from Somerset, knows how easy it is
to get carried away with someone you've just met. "I was a total
idiot and slept with a bloke I met online, without protection. It
was irresponsible and I should have known better - I'm nearly 30
and studied medicine! But I was tipsy and there had been a lot of
saucy messages exchanged before the date, so I was horny and
couldn't resist the guy, even though neither of us had condoms on
us," she says. "The following day, I tried to do some damage
control; I bought the morning-after pill from a pharmacy and made
an appointment at a clinic to get tested a week later."
<p class="BodyBembo">She opted for the full range of tests,
including an instant HIV test, where you receive the results within
three minutes. "I cried with relief when the doctor told me I was
fine," she says. "I've since deleted all dating apps from my phone.
Especially late at night, you can end up chatting to random men,
and one thing can lead to another far too swiftly. It's too easy to
forget about the risks."
<p class="BodyBembo">Marie Cosnard, Head of Trends at dating app
Happn (8 million users worldwide), thinks it's lazy to lay the
blame on dating apps. "Saying dating apps are responsible for an
increase in STIs is exactly like saying that bars and nightclubs
are responsible for STIs," she says. "Or that universities are
responsible for the rise in STIs, because that's where young people
meet their partners. The problem is that people are not treating
the risks of catching and/or transmitting STIs seriously enough, no
matter how they've met their partner."
<p class="BodyBembo">Despite his concerns, Peter Greenhouse agrees
that he doesn't want to demonise apps. "It's not about taking a
moral stance here," he says. "Sex, when it's right, can be a truly
wonderful thing and if a dating app helps you find the right
person, so much the better, provided it's done in a safe way."
<p class="BodyBembo">For sexual health campaigner Brigette Bard,
founder of lasttaboo.co.uk, the real issue here is people taking
responsibility for their own sexual health.
<p class="BodyBembo">"Having casual sex is totally acceptable, and
if it's what you want to do, go and do it. But be confident about
the way you approach it, and take ownership of your own sexual
health," she says. Yes, you read that right. It's 2016, and we are
still having this conversation. "Many of the women I speak to are
really conscious and aware about the possibility of getting
pregnant," continues Bard. "They'll use oral contraception, have
injections or get the coil, but too often that's kind of a full
stop. Condoms need to become part of our normal conversation, and
more women need to start carrying them. A lot of women worry about
asking men to wear one, but if a woman pulls out a condom, the guy
isn't going to say, 'Forget it, I'm not sleeping with you.' It's
just not going to happen. Dating apps are a tool to make meeting
easier, but by saying the apps are to blame, you completely remove
responsibility from the individual."
<p class="BodyBembo">Liz, 33, from London, takes the right
precautions with the men she meets on Tinder and also gets tested,
for peace of mind. "I've slept with four people in the past six
months who I've met via dating apps. I always use condoms. I can't
relax otherwise. My last hook-up was with a man who made it clear
in his profile that he was only looking for sex, so it was obvious
he was promiscuous."
<p class="BodyBembo">Liz went to a sexual health clinic, where they
took blood from her arm to test for diseases including syphilis and
HIV, and gave her a vaginal swab
to test for chlamydia and gonorrhoea. "A week later, I phoned up
to be told I'd tested negative for everything. The relief was
immense. I've decided that while I'm still using dating apps, I'll
get tested at least every six months."
<p class="BodyBembo">Regular sexual health testing is as vital as
safe sex, says Bard. "If you do have an STI, then the earlier
treatment is started, the better the outcome, and the less risk
there is of onward transmission."
<p class="BodyBembo">However, recent government cutbacks to the
public health budget mean many sexual health clinics are facing
closure - a worrying state of affairs, says Peter Greenhouse. "With
sexual health services being cut back just at the time when more
people have got much easier ways of changing partners… we could be
looking at a perfect storm for sexual health," he explains.
<p class="BodyBembo">The Family Planning Association predicts the
cuts could mean the number of extra STI diagnoses could be as many
as 72,299 in the next five years. Which means it's more important
than ever that we do our bit in protecting ourselves and stopping
the spread.
<p class="BodyBembo">Janelle is still using Tinder, but has learned
her lesson. "Now, I put my foot down: no condom, no sex."
<p class="BodyBembo">*For more information on STIs, visit
fpa.org.uk or bashh.org*
