Our smartphones can do a gazillion and one things like help us find the closest hotspot, manage our finances and even book a plane ticket. Now, it can even help us have safer sex. No, it won’t dispense a condom but it will allow you to share your STD status with that of your intended, uh hem, hook up.
The app, “Safe Bumping,” was created by Dr. Michael Nusbaum, the New Jersey developer of MedXSafe, who aims to curb the spread of STD’s – a case in where 19 million new infections are diagnosed every year with chlamidya and gonnoreha sit among the most common infection. American teenagers are among the top group of new infections each year with almost 50 percent of them engaging in sexual behaviors as reported by the Centers for Disease Control.
The app’s special feature, according to Nussbaum who spoke with ABC News, encourages dating singles to go to the doctor for regular STD checks. Individuals who receive a negative screening test can ask their doctors to document their status onto the app for sharing with whomever they choose.
Skeptics aren’t convinced that this new app will in fact encourage safer sex practices. Alternatively, it may discourage them. “It can take months for HIV to show up on a test,” said Renee Williams in a statement to ABC News. Williams serves as the executive director of SAFE, a nonprofit organization dedicated to abstinence education. “So you can test negative today, go out on Friday night and have sex, and then get retested later and find out that you had HIV all along.”
The goal of the app is to encourage the conversation around safe sex and uncomfortable STD talks by harnessing technology to appeal to a tech-savvy generation. Technology aside, trading STD information isn’t quite as easy as trading Twitter handles. We’ll see how this goes over at parties.
Would you download the “Safe Bumping” app?
