The Award Winning News Publication of Mercy College

The Impact

The Award Winning News Publication of Mercy College

The Impact

The Award Winning News Publication of Mercy College

The Impact

OP/ED: Safe Sex Happens, And Now You Can Know Where!

Just when you thought social media sites couldn’t get any less private…you can now ‘check in’ when you’re ‘getting it in’. Because everyone is dying to know when and where you’re doing it. Right?

Seriously, what would your grandmother say?

More than half of sexually active Americans will get a sexually transmitted disease at some point in their lives, but condoms reduced the risk, and condoms are 98 percent effective in preventing pregnancy.

I can get on board with the promotion of safe sex, but I think broadcasting to the world when and where you’re getting it is a bit presumptuous. Trust me; no one cares when or where you’re having sex.

Never-the-less, Planned Parenthood gave out 55,000 condoms with QR codes on the wrappers. Anyone with a smart phone can scan it to check in on wheredidyouwearit.com.

On the website there are links where you can find out more information on condom usage. The links will send you to the Planned Parenthood website, where most of the questions you have are answered, and you can ask some questions yourself.

May I include that each link button is shaped as the tip of a condom.

The website even has a link that sends you to YouTube and a video, put up by Planned Parenthood, shows you how to put on a condom.

If you don’t know where the closest clinic is to your house where you can get free condoms, there is a link of where the closest Planned Parenthood clinic is to you.

If you want to see how many people are actually using this application and see how many people are having sex, click away. You can view and filter the map on the website down to your gender (male, female, or transgender), your partner’s gender (same options as your gender), your age, your relationship status, and why you use condoms.

It gets better– users can also filter the map and rate how good the sex was! Is anyone going to be honest? I really hope that no one over the age of 18 uses this app–it’s juvenile and tacky Alright, maybe a tiny bit funny, but have some class!

It’s not over. You can choose an option as to where people and their partner had sex. Options include: bedroom, kitchen, “the great outdoors,” planes, trains and automobiles, in the shower, at a party, hotel room, hot tub, on the beach, or someplace else.

You can share your use through this website to your Twitter account and your Facebook account.

When you are checking in, the website guarantees that they do not save your address. They will generate a location close by in your neighborhood so your special spot stays secret.

The disclaimer before checking in to where you had sex states that “safe sex happens, and you should be proud that you are participating in having safe sex, considering that half of us will get an STD at some time in our lives.“

Of course, abstinence from sexual activity is the only sure way to prevent both pregnancy and the spread of STDs.

The website claims they are not encouraging people to have sex or not have sex. They’re just encouraging people to be safer in their activities. This site is intended to provide a visual representation that safe sex happens too.

After checking in, wheredidyouwearit.com provides you with a copy of your link on the map so you can see who else around you is practicing safe sex.

I entered in my location and only saw that one other couple was aware of the website and checked in within 20 miles of my location.

Each check-in has a story that goes along with it. When entering the information about your experience, which is the information that shows up when people click on your check-in location.

The website has either not branched out enough or made itself known, or people are too embarrassed to check in where you are having sex.

I believe once this website hits the social media network, it will create a big fiasco within parents of teenagers who have access to it. The argument of the website promoting teens to have sex will definitely be on the top of the list.

Teenagers may take it the wrong way as well. Boys in high school may check in to show how many times they are having sex to build up a reputation. Having sex, and lots of it, make them appear “cool,” while as a girl it makes them appear like a slut.

If a teenager so young chooses to have sex, wearing a condom should be first priority before the act.

There is strength in numbers. There is leadership by example. Be part of the solution. Be smart. Be sexy. Be responsible. Have safe sex and be counted to help normalize the use of condoms.

 

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About the Contributor
Kristin McGovern
Kristin McGovern, Impact Staff
Kristin McGovern is a senior media studies major, with her focus on journalism. She loves to write stories on current and local events, and entertainment pieces. Her inspirations to become a journalist and promote her writing skills branched from movies such as 13 Going on 30, and The Devil Wears Prada, as well as her teachers in High School and College. In 2011-2012 and took on responsibility as the News Editor, and covered stories anywhere between local events like the closing of a Mercy College campus, to important news events, such as Kony. When she first started writing for The Impact News, she had aspirations to become a field reporter for ESPN, or a news anchor for Entertainment Tonight. Now, she wishes to become a host for E! News, and do free-lance journalism for magazines such as Cosmopolitan, US Weekly, or ELLE.   Contact: [email protected]

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