Dr. Chris Mackie recently made a claim on Twitter that sexually transmitted infections are on the rise in Ontario. He followed up in the comments section, saying that the increase has dating sites like Tinder to blame.
Dr. Chris Mackie’s original Tweet
Public Sex Educator, Marie Mitchell, says that these claims may not have all that much validity to them. “There is a problem with gathering all that information because doctors, and clinics, and people in general do not have to report that they have an STI.” It is not mandatory to report STI’s to Health Canada, making statistics unreliable. If a Doctor in one area reports all STI’s, compared to another area that reports none, the first area will have larger appearing statistics then the latter.
Another issue that Mitchell has with Dr. Mackie’s claims is his comment on blaming dating sites. According to recent data gathering, the largest grossing population of STI spreaders is in the geriatric population. This is a population that is not typically associated with using dating sites like Tinder.
Mitchell does agree with Dr. Mackie on one key topic: protection. “Whether you’re using dating apps or not, education is huge. know the risks, get tested, use protection. Abstinence is always the best. I mean you can’t get an STI if you’re not having sex. But if you are going to be having sex, use a condom and then get tested.”
