14 DAY TRIAL // This year's meeting of the American Public Health Association witnessed the release of a new study stating that, in today's modern culture, the use of smartphones by teenagers can be linked to an increase in their display of promiscuous behavior.
The researchers who looked into this issue based their concluding remark on the analysis of a survey carried out in schools from the Los Angeles Unified School District back in 2011.
Said survey took into consideration factors such as age, race, gender and orientation, and found that, on average, young adults who owned and used smartphones on a regular basis were more likely to both engage in promiscuous activities and speak openly about them.
Apparently, this is because smartphones provide them with access to the Internet during all hours of the day, and thus make it significantly easier for them to either go looking for potential partners online, or be approached by such partners out of the latter's own accord.
Commenting on these findings, specialist Hailey Winetrobe made a case of how, “We – parents, health educators, physicians – must recognize that cell phones are yet another new way for adolescents to meet intimate partners.”
Furthermore, “Parents and school health professionals should talk to their teens about being safe in meeting people online and in using protection to prevent STDs, STIs and unplanned pregnancies.”
Raw estimates show that, when compared to teens that lack Internet access on their phones, adolescent smartphone owners are twice as likely to meet a potential partner online.
As well as this, there are more than twice as likely to agree to becoming physically acquainted with these potential partners.
Interestingly enough, teens whose orientation is not all that mainstream were found to be five times more likely to use the Internet in order to meet individuals who shared their orientation, most likely because they more often than not have problems fitting in.