Contraceptive Information, Online

Although the amount of time and attention that young people spend on the Internet provides an ideal opportunity for communicating about sexual health, few efforts have used the Web for this purpose. The Internet's ability to relay information on demand is ideal for teenagers, who often lack transportation and access to health-care providers. The anonymity of accessing information online may enable more teenagers to seek answers to their questions, questions they would never dare to ask in person. And, although the Internet may contain ample misinformation, studies have shown that careful search techniques can successfully pull up educational information without pornography. Finally, the Internet may be the only source of comprehensive, accurate sexual health information at a time when school-based curricula, at best, are becoming increasingly incomplete.

Of the nation's estimated 144 million regular Internet users, about 31% regularly use the Net for health information, and many of them are teenagers. In 2003, roughly 27 million of the nation's regular Internet surfers were between the ages of 2 and 17. Many teens use this new medium for sexual information. Although teens say they prefer to get sexual education from their parents, 44% report learning about sexual issues from the Internet. Yet, public health educators have done little to examine the viability of the Internet for this role.

Simultaneously, U.S. adolescents face increasing risks of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and continued high rates of unintended pregnancies. About one in four sexually active youth are infected with an STD by age 24. About 800,000 teenagers age 19 or younger become pregnant each year, a figure that, although representing a decline from the early 1990s, is still higher than the rate for most developed countries.

[Page 220]The coincidence of these two trends—increasing use of the Internet for health information and an adolescent STD epidemic—provides health educators with a unique opportunity to convey sexual health information and disseminate contraceptives. Online sex stores make it easy for adolescents to buy contraceptive products such as condoms from the comfort of their own computers. This mode of perusal and acquisition offers the advantages of anonymity, accessibility, and affordability, while at the same time exposing users to the disadvantages of inappropriate and inaccurate information.

The Internet's uniquely intermediate status between a mass medium and interpersonal communication makes it an ideal venue for communicating sensitive information because it offers anonymity and sophisticated message tailoring. Several exemplary sexuality education sites are specifically designed for teenagers: Planned Parenthood Federation of America's http://www.teenwire.org, Sex, Etc.'s http://www.sexetc.org, and Kaiser's http://www.kff.org.

The Internet may be especially useful in circumstances where alternative sources of sexual information are limited. Recent federal legislation mandates that schools teach abstinence until marriage unless a broader curriculum is approved by parents and local school boards. The abstinence-until-marriage platform excludes sexually active straight teens and all gay and lesbian people because gay marriage is illegal in 49 states. Yet, in 2005, the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services dedicated nearly $170 million in funding to abstinence-only programs, more than twice the amount allocated in 2001, while comprehensive, medically accurate sex education will receive no dedicated funding, according to a 2004 report issued by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D-CA). The report also stated that the majority of curricula (11 out of 13) funded by the federal abstinence initiative, SPRANS (Special Programs of Regional and National Significance Community-Based Abstinence Education), contain scientific errors and distortions, along with misleading information about the effectiveness of contraceptives, the risks of abortion, and the risks of sexual activity. Taboos on discussing sexuality and other important health topics leave many adolescents unarmed with preventive skills.

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