In , about 15 percent of American adults said they used online dating sites or mobile apps, according to data collected by the Pew Research Center. All of this dating going on between apparent strangers begs the question: Is it safe?
According to Safewise. In a report published by the company and co-sponsored by Highspeedinternet. Idaho, with a population of roughly 1. Meanwhile, Washington, with a much higher population of about 7. Whether that means Washington is inherently more unsafe than Idaho is in the eye of the beholder. And a majority of rapes and sexual assaults go unreported , according to the National Institute of Justice. The same CDC survey reported that nearly half of women who took the survey have experienced some sort of sexual violence in their lives.
And most of these victims knew their assailant. Reports of chlamydia in the county have more than doubled since , and nationally, about 1. But health officials at the Spokane Regional Health District attribute the increase in sexually transmitted infections to better screening and technology β not to people practicing unsafe sex. The Safewise report did find a correlation between rates of sexually transmitted diseases and states that require school-based sex education: The states without sex education tended to be ranked lower on the list.
Many people who have dates with their online admirers end the night not with a new love, but with an embarrassing or creepy story to share with friends. Spokane resident Megan McLean met a guy on Tinder a few years ago and decided to join him for drinks at a downtown Spokane watering hole. As he got drunker and the tablecloth slipped further in his lap, I decided the date was over. She excused herself from the table and went to the bathroom while looking for a way out.
Spokane is one of many cities across the country facing a significant shortage of behavioral health workers. In this July 5, , file photo, a man uses the dating app Tinder in New Delhi. By Jonathan Glover jonathanglover22 gmail. Awkward or embarrassing encounters more likely Many people who have dates with their online admirers end the night not with a new love, but with an embarrassing or creepy story to share with friends.
