Sexually transmitted diseases are at an all time high. But why?
News on upticks in STD rates is troubling—but no, we can't blame Tinder.
By Rachel Feltman May 15, 2018
Update: On Monday, the California Department of Public Health released a report showing a 45 percent increase in cases of chlamydia, gonorrhea, and early syphilis between 2012 and 2017. The state saw 218,710 documented cases of chlamydia in 2017 alone, which is the highest rate since 1990. Many headlines have focused on the fact that public health professionals suggest social media services like Tinder might be partially to blame.
But while the new data out of California is indeed troubling—and may be due in part to digital-era sexual behavior—the results are not surprising, and cannot be explained by individual behavior alone. Below is an article originally published on September 28, 2017, reporting on the Centers for Disease Control's annual STD report. The CDC found an increase in those same three infections between 2015 and 2016, not just in California but across the entire country. And the shift, according to experts, likely has more to do with stigma against testing and low access to healthcare than promiscuity.
https://www.popsci.com/sexually-transmitted-disease-increase
