Epidemiologists Blame Dating App Hookups For Australian STI Increase

Scientific researchers have suggested that dating apps could be largely responsible for a dramatic rise of gonorrhea cases in Adelaide, Australia.

The findings of the investigation, which was conducted by epidemiologists at Flinders University, showed that transmission rates had more than doubled between 2012 and 2017. The number of new cases each year also grew from 21.9 cases per 100,000 people to 74.

It was speculated that the lack of personal connection associated with dating app hookups could be a factor.

Dr Emma Miller told ABC News: “This is probably something to do with changes in sexual behaviour. The biggest social change in sexual behaviour has been the arrival of Tinder.

“Because you don’t have a social connection with those people, there’s not as much attention paid to consequences and what might come afterwards. They seem to be associated, therefore, with unprotected sex.”

She also revealed that the rise of sexually transmitted infections is nicknamed “tinderrhoea”.

There are concerns that this trend could have a wider impact on Australian public health, leading to an increase in heterosexually transmitted HIV and infertility.

Tinder CEO Elie Seidman has been working to rid the dating app of its infamous hookup reputation. He believes the majority of 18-year-olds that joined the platform in the early days will have grown up and are now more interested in finding a serious relationship.

The ‘Prompts’ feature released last week should help facilitate deeper connections as singles can match for deeper personality reasons, rather than just a physical attraction.

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