Social networking could help ‘control HIV, other STDs’
December 7th, 2010 - 2:04 pm ICT by ANI
Washington, Dec 07 (ANI): A new research has indicated that online social networking sites could help control the rise in HIV and other sexually transmitted infections in homeless youth in Los Angeles.
According to new research by Sean Young from UCLA and Eric Rice from USC in the US, online social networking - and the topics discussed on these networks - have the potential to affect sexual risk behaviors.
A total of 201 youths, recruited at a drop-in agency serving homeless youth in Los Angeles, California, took part in the survey. The young people were asked about their use of the Internet and online social networks - including their topics of conversation online, their sexual risk behaviors, their lifetime history of testing for STIs, and their knowledge about HIV and STIs.
The majority (79 percent) of participants used online social networks almost every week and they were particularly likely to use MySpace and/or Facebook. When using these networks, young people frequently talked to others about videos, drinking, drugs and parties, sex, love and relationships, being homeless, and school experiences. Almost 80 percent had previously tested for STIs.
The findings tell two stories. On the one hand, the use of online social networks for partner seeking is associated with an increase in sexual risk behaviors. On the other hand, the use of social networks is associated with increased knowledge and HIV/STI prevention behaviors among homeless youth.
Young and Rice concluded: “Our findings suggest that online social
networks are popular among homeless youth, and that they can be used as a tool for sexual health interventions. As online social networks continue to increase, these networks could potentially increase sexual risk behaviors by facilitating an easy way to meet new sex partners.
“They could also potentially decrease homeless youths’ sexual risk behaviors if the networks are used as effective sexual health communication and information portals by health researchers and agencies, to inform users about their risks and offer information on how they can protect themselves.”
The study has been published online in Springer’s journal AIDS and Behavior.(ANI)
- Homeless kids' use of social networking can up risky sex behaviour - Mar 06, 2011
- Male teens getting inadequate counselling about HIV, STI - Apr 14, 2010
- Psychiatric disorders linked to risky sexual behaviour in adolescents - Sep 29, 2010
- Sexually abused street teens have sex at an early age to get partner approval - Nov 14, 2010
- STIs reach record levels with young people especially at risk - Aug 25, 2010
- Gonorrhea cure gets tough as bug grows drug resistant - Nov 08, 2011
- Youngsters are sexually active by 16 but only half use protection - Apr 20, 2011
- Over 45s 'unaware of safe sex' - Sep 14, 2010
- Cash reward with counselling may help fight STIs - Jul 20, 2010
- Sexually transmitted diseases among Aussie youngsters on the rise - May 29, 2010
- Lubricant use with anal sex may raise HIV risk - May 26, 2010
- Mobile diagnostics can tell if you have STDs - Nov 10, 2010
- Teen mothers account for quarter of all births in Mexico - Apr 08, 2012
- 40 percent Indians embarrassed to ask for contraceptives - Sep 26, 2011
- School based sex education classes have little effect: Study - Jun 09, 2010
Tags: control hiv, eric rice, health communication, health interventions, homeless youths, lifetime history, myspace, new sex, online social networks, other sexually transmitted infections, parties sex, school experiences, sean young, serving homeless youth, sex partners, sexual risk behaviors, social networking sites, stds, stis, topics of conversation