Talk About Viral – Facebook Alleged as Link to Syphilis Increase
Health experts in Great Britain have underlined the recent fourfold increase in syphilis to areas of Britain that Facebook is most popular. The director of Public Health, Peter Kelly identified that social media sites like Facebook make “it easier for people to meet up for casual sex”. He identified that of the cases he was familiar with, that the partners had met through a social media site.
Some tech bloggers are up in arms about the fantastic accusations. Some are adamant about the fact that tabloids are promoting this link solely to sell their newspapers. The British tabloids are famous for providing titillating news ‘stories’. Other bloggers are more stoic about the announcement.
While delving deeper into the story, the region in question, Teesside, a southeastern industrial town, has developed 30 cases of syphilis in 2009, up from 10 during the previous year. The small sample size and the sketchy details reveal that there is none, if any, substantiated research that Facebook can be linked with syphilis.
Media blogger Jennifer Van Grove offers an insightful look at this could be trend when she says, “With 400 million members now spanning the world, it does make sense that more hook-ups would happen with Facebook as the facilitator and go-between”.
