Swipe safely!
It is the start of the new year, which usually finds folk with a renewed sense of purpose in finding a partner. Or partners. Whatever makes you happy, really.
Sunday 6 January – aka Single Sunday – is reportedly the busiest day of the year of dating apps around the world (we go into the reasons why right here), but we imagine all of the apps and dating websites will remain busy between now and Valentine’s Day, when the singletons tend to give up on love for another year.
Maybe that is for the best though, as a new study performed by Zava showed that one-in-five 18-to-24 year olds admit to having caught an STI from someone they met through a dating app.
The study showed that three-out-of-every-four young people actively use dating apps, with over 70% of them on Tinder, with the rest far behind, including way ahead of Bumble (6%), Grindr (4%), Happn (2%) and Hinge (1%).
Even with these high risks, not enough active daters are getting tested, with people who identify as gay or bisexual are more likely to get tested for STIs (34% and 33% respectively) than their straight counterparts (28%).
Commenting on the findings, Dr Kathryn Basford of Zava, said: “Both gonorrhoea and chlamydia are bacterial infections that can have serious health consequences if they remain untreated. Prevention is much better than treatment, so we advise all young adults meeting people online to use a barrier contraceptive like condoms, femidoms, or dental dams.
“Not only can barrier contraceptives prevent unwanted pregnancies, unlike other forms of contraception they also reduce the risk of contracting an STI.”
Check out the full findings right here.
Additionally, if you want some tips on how to improve your online dating game, check out our advice right here.
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