Is Tinder to blame for Alberta's shocking rise in STIs?

Here's the troubling news: Alberta's rate of sexually transmitted infections has increased steeply. Gonorrhea cases in 2015 were a staggering 80 percent higher than they were in 2014. Cases of syphilis doubled during the same time.

Provincial health officials counted 3,400 cases of gonorrhea in 2015. The overall rate for women with gonorrhea increased 93 percent from 2014, with indigenous women making up half those cases. There were 350 cases of syphilis — 86 percent of which were reported in a group identified as MSM: men who have sex with men.

And here's the puzzling news: Alberta health officials are blaming the sharp increase on ... no, not unprotected sex ... anonymous hookups arranged through social media.

"There are several factors but this is probably the single most or highest reason why we are getting the increased rates — the use of social media,'' said Dr. Karen Grimsrud, chief medical officer of health. Presumably Grimsrud isn't referring to Facebook or Twitter but to dating apps like Tinder and Grindr.

To help turn the numbers around, the danger of anonymous hookups will be the focus of a provincial awareness campaign, according to Gerry Predy of Alberta Health Service. But are one-night stands really the problem?

People are going to have sex, and they're going to have sex with people they don't know very well (which, sure, is not always a bright idea), but whether that hookup is arranged via social media or during last call at a bar is besides the point when it comes to STIs. It's not the anonymity of the encounter that spreads gonorrhea and syphilis, it's unprotected sex. If something is in need of a public awareness campaign, it's condoms.

With files from The Canadian Press.
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