Someone had to say it......
This article adds weight to the argument that Facebook is "clap trap".
The sharp rise in syphilis cases in Teesside has been partially attributed to social networking sites which incautious locals are trawling in search of casual sex. According to the local Evening Gazette, the number of reported cases jumped to 30 last year, up from less than 10 in 2008. Professor Peter Kelly, executive director …
And practising "safe sex" will not help you as far as syphilis is concerned. It is the most bogus advice I have heard from a physician for a while. Syphilis can be contracted via any body contact or even using the same towel as the person infected (within a relatively short period as Treponema pallidum dies within minutes outside the body).
So unless "safe" means using biohazard suit...
This is the same spurious logic that prompted Bobby Henderson (of Flying Spaghetti Monster fame) to write the letter about "decrease in pirates on the high seas linked to increase in global warming" to prove that "correlation does not imply causation", right?
For shame, Telegraph, for shame.
Syphilis can also cause heightened pleasure and arousal... thus increasing an infected persons desire for sex... which thus increases the chances of passing the infection on to some one else.
If that was the case, then this could be a lot worse than reported... and wouldn't be restricted to just facebook but would in fact be happening in real life. The relatively low numbers being reported could simply be the actions of 1 or 2 untreated individuals.
Shame on the Telegraph for stopping to Daily 'Hate' Mail reporting standards... and a total non story that the Reg should not be spreading unless taking the piss out of such bad reporting standards.
The only safe sex is masturbating by yourself. As soon as another person is involved you're at risk, unless you wear a full body suit and don't kiss.
Syphillis is particularly nasty and easy to catch, but at least it's trivially curable. On the other hand, hepatitis B is freely spread using oral sex, and very difficult to cure. Of course, you can be immunised against it, but the effectiveness depends on your own personal biochemistry and if a UK GUM clinic is prepared to offer it - many aren't as it has a perception of being a 'gay STI'. Other countries (Australia, for one) are more informed and try to immunise people as a matter of course.
Still, look at the stupidity when the HPV vaccine came out..
Right up until you get RSI. Some countries also give the death penalty for that, thank goodness Britain isn't (currently) one of them. Of course the right wingnuts in the US will probably get there first so that's going to give some advanced warning. That said it'd probably put Kleenex out of business so that's unlikely to happen.
The tabloids reporting this are a disgrace. They have been shown up as liars once again by the work of Tabloid Watch and Enemies of Reason, who are well worth reading if you've not seen them before. Inject some sanity into your life.
http://tabloid-watch.blogspot.com/2010/03/sun-syphilis-and-social-networking.html
http://enemiesofreason.co.uk/2010/03/24/telegraph-linked-with-rise-in-fuckwittery/
@Craig28
There are no countries in the world that have a death penalty for either RSI or jerking off. You are lucky that the Telegraph didn't pick up on your comment, or like their last story it would've went viral.
Saying that, I don't believe self-masturbation is the only form of safe sex. Mutual masturbation, when preceded by mutual hand-washing, has killed nobody and is a hell of a lot more pleasurable.