From the chatroom to the bedroom
MANILA, Philippines - Social media has inadvertently aided the spread of the HIV in the Philippines, according to an ongoing study by the Department of Health (DOH).
Health Assistant Secretary Dr. Eric Tayag revealed that social media contributed to increased sexual activity and heightened risk of HIV transmission.
The completion of the study, according to Tayag, will enable DOH to understand and address the problem.
Based on the latest Philippine HIV and AIDS Registry Report, there were 253 new HIV cases last September, the highest ever recorded in the country since 1984.
In the US, one third of women who meet men online have sex on the first date. Seventy percent of them do not use condoms, according to Sexuality Research & Social Policy, a journal published by the National Sexuality Resource Center, an organization based in San Francisco, USA, which advocates the positive representation of human sexuality.
In 2010, an estimated 1.5 million people have been diagnosed with AIDS in America since the beginning of the epidemic.
“Sex can both be pleasurable and smart. It is easy to get lost amid all the pleasures of sex, but waking up the next day with a sexually transmitted disease or unplanned pregnancy is dreadful,” says Isa Marfori, brand manager for leading condom brand Durex.
The Net has become a popular avenue for meeting people. A huge chunk of online users (92 percent) log on to connect with others. Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, are some of the common forms of online communication, according to the journal AIDS and Behavior published in March 2011.
Online social networks allow users to communicate with others and have access to profiles, send e-mails and pictures, chat, and play games. This often leads to flirting or building romantic and sexual relationships. The AIDS journal also revealed that net users also link up with chatmates to talk about sex. Among issues they discuss are sexual problems such as risks associated with unprotected sex and risky behavior.
However, electronic relationships also make it easy for “friends” to misrepresent themselves — always showing their best side, which does not necessarily equate to being sexually responsible later.
“That’s where the problems begin. When adults choose to go to “war” they come unprotected,” Marfori adds. “The next time you click on the mouse, think smart. Learn about the risks of dating your newfound online “friend.” Whatever option you choose, you must have protection. And you must use it properly.
Recently, Durex mounted “What’s the Big Deal? A Sexhibit” which advocated the use of condom to prevent transmission of STDs and unplanned pregnancies. About a thousand visitors came to the three-part, strictly-for-adults exhibit held in Makati City. A demonstration on the proper use of condom by Durex brand ambassador Carlos Celdran highlighted the event.
The leading condom brand in the world hopes to bolster its efforts to improve knowledge on the spread of STDs and unplanned pregnancies through events that educate adults on these pressing issues.
Durex is marketed by Reckitt Benckiser in the Philippines, which also markets and distributes Veet, Gaviscon, Strepsils, and Lysol in country.
