--- title: Americans Think HTML Is An STD According to New Study description: According to a new study canonical: https://time.com/12410/11-of-americans-think-html-is-an-std/ author: Jessica Roy article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-03-04T19:34:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:43:25.222Z og:title: Americans Think HTML Is An STD According to New Study og:description: According to a new study og:url: https://time.com/12410/11-of-americans-think-html-is-an-std/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt243ad42f67e2c359/698683dcf983e79cdc04c92f/aa023399.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: HTML Tag on a Computer Monitor Screen og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Americans Think HTML Is An STD According to New Study twitter:description: According to a new study twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt243ad42f67e2c359/698683dcf983e79cdc04c92f/aa023399.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Study: 11% of Americans Think HTML Is an STD ## Video: TIME Explains: The Deep Web [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Explains: The Deep Web](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/DQbujPQY.m3u8) (2:19)  _Published 2013-10-31. The FBI takedown of the online market Silk Road reveals the challenges of regulating the Deep Web. Here's what you need to know._ by [Jessica Roy](https://time.com/author/jessica-roy/) ## Jessica Roy Mar 4, 2014 7:34 PM UTC  HTML Tag on a Computer Monitor Screen HTML Tag on a Computer Monitor ScreenNick Koudis—Getty Images by [Jessica Roy](https://time.com/author/jessica-roy/) ## Jessica Roy Mar 4, 2014 7:34 PM UTC Had a particularly raucous night that ended with you doing the walk of shame the next morning? Uh oh, hope you don’t get HTML. Just kidding! HTML is a programming language that’s used to make websites, but according to a new study from [VoucherCloud](http://www.vouchercloud.net/) and [published](http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-1-10-americans-html-std-study-finds-20140304,0,1188415.story#axzz2v1X0Ct00) by the _L.A. Times_, 1 in every 9 Americans–or exactly 11%–think HTML is actually a sexually transmitted disease. VoucherCloud surveyed 2,392 people ages 18 or older and, according to the _L.A. Times_, “were given both tech and non-tech terms and were asked to choose from three possible definitions.” The results? An embarrassing amount of Americans think HTML is a disease you can catch from another human being–which says a lot about the state of both sex _and_ computer education in the U.S. Other findings, unearthed by the _Times_: --- > “” --- --- > “” --- --- > “” --- --- > “” --- It’s like they ONLY interviewed my grandma and her friends! ### PHOTOS: The Rise of Mobile Phones from 1916 to Today  1916 A German field telephone station in the Aisne department of northern France during World War I. Paul Thompson—FPG/Getty Images  1970 French singer and actor Johnny Hallyday in a scene from the film 'Point de Chute' (aka 'Falling Point'). Keystone/Holton/Getty Images  1980 An early mobile phone during the Iranian Embassy siege at Princes Gate in South Kensington, London. Kypros/Getty Images  1983 Bob Maxwell, general manager of Englewood-based Mobile Telephone of Colorado, places a call on an FCC-approved radio frequency while driving to work. Lyn Alweis—Denver Post/Getty Images  1986 THE A-TEAM "The Say U.N.C.L.E. Affair" Episode 5\. (l-r) Eddie Velez as Frankie Santana, Robert Vaughn as General Hunt Stockwell, George Peppard as John 'Hannibal' Smith. Bill Dow—NBC/Getty Images  1992 Democratic presidential nominee Bill Clinton talks on a cell phone while meeting with Boston Mayor Ray Flynn in a New York hotel on Sept. 25. Mark Lennihan—AP  1993 Whoopi Goldberg during ShoWest in Las Vegas. Jeff Kravitz—FilmMagic/Getty Images  1997 A farmer with his family sitting on a Bullock Cart and talking on a mobile Phone, in Delhi. India Today Group/Getty Images  2001 A woman watches smoke pour out of the World Trade Center Towers in New York on September 11. Nicholas Goldberg—Gamma-Rapho/Getty Images  2011 A rebel militiaman speaks on his mobile phone after capturing territory from government troops on March 25 in Ben Jawat, Libya. John Moore—Getty Images  2011 A youth films the aftermath of tear gas police fired at protestors in Muhammed Mahmoud Street near Tahrir Square on November 23 in Cairo. Peter Macdiarmid—Getty Images  2012 Audience members take pictures of President Barack Obama at Florida Atlantic University on April 10 in Boca Raton, Florida. Marc Serota—Getty Images  2014 A teenager takes a selfie in front of Queen Elizabeth II during a walk around St. Georges Market in Belfast. The Queen has apparently voiced her dismay that when she carries out engagements she is greeted by a sea of mobile phones. Peter Macdiarmid—PA Wire/Press Association Images/AP ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/12410/11-of-americans-think-html-is-an-std/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/12410/11-of-americans-think-html-is-an-std/"},"headline":"Study: 11% of Americans Think HTML Is an STD","datePublished":"2014-03-04T19:34:51.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:43:25.222Z","description":"According to a new study","url":"https://time.com/12410/11-of-americans-think-html-is-an-std/","keywords":["Newsfeed","Technology","study","Tech","STD"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt243ad42f67e2c359/698683dcf983e79cdc04c92f/aa023399.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jessica Roy","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/jessica-roy/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt243ad42f67e2c359/698683dcf983e79cdc04c92f/aa023399.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"HTML Tag on a Computer Monitor Screen","caption":"HTML Tag on a Computer Monitor Screen","creditText":"Nick Koudis—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/12410/11-of-americans-think-html-is-an-std/","name":"Study: 11% of Americans Think HTML Is an STD"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME Explains: The Deep Web","description":"The FBI takedown of the online market Silk Road reveals the challenges of regulating the Deep Web. 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