--- title: STDs: Hookup Apps May Be to Blame for Rhode Island's Spike in STDs description: Rhode Island is currently experiencing what health experts are calling an "epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases" canonical: https://time.com/3898256/hookup-apps-rhode-islands-stds/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-05-27T18:07:02.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:59:07.518Z article:section: Health og:title: Hookup Apps May Be to Blame for Rhode Island's Spike in STDs og:description: Social media and hookup sites are contributing to the "epidemic" og:url: https://time.com/3898256/hookup-apps-rhode-islands-stds/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Hookup Apps May Be to Blame for Rhode Island's Spike in STDs twitter:description: Social media and hookup sites are contributing to the "epidemic" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Hookup Apps May Be to Blame for Rhode Island's Spike in STDs > Sponsored content. 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Health Matters is TIME's daily health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free daily newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ## Video: How $1,000 Could Help Your Health [Watch (HLS stream): How $1,000 Could Help Your Health](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EILRa37f.m3u8) (2:01)  _Published 2014-08-22. From acupuncture to yoga, $1,000 can go a long way to improving your health._ by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin May 27, 2015 6:07 PM UTC by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin May 27, 2015 6:07 PM UTC Rhode Island is currently experiencing what health experts are calling an “epidemic of sexually transmitted diseases” — and hookup apps may be partially to blame, officials said. From 2013 to 2014, infections of syphilis increased 79%, gonorrhea cases went up 30% and new HIV cases increased by about 33%, according to data released by the Rhode Island department of health. The agency noted that the uptick could be sparked by better medical testing and more people having their STDs checked out and reported. However, the agency also acknowledged the role of high-risk behaviors, including “using social media to arrange casual and often anonymous sexual encounters, having sex without a condom, having multiple sex partners, and having sex while under the influence of drugs or alcohol,” the agency [wrote in a health alert](http://www.ri.gov/press/view/24889). Overall, the rates of HIV/AIDS and syphilis transmission were greater among populations of gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men. The rates of all STDs in the state were also higher among African-American, Hispanic and young adult populations, the agency reported. The health department said the uptick is indicative of a national increase in STDs. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3898256/hookup-apps-rhode-islands-stds/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3898256/hookup-apps-rhode-islands-stds/"},"headline":"Hookup Apps May Be to Blame for Rhode Island's Spike in STDs","datePublished":"2015-05-27T18:07:02.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:59:07.518Z","description":"Social media and hookup sites are contributing to the \"epidemic\"","url":"https://time.com/3898256/hookup-apps-rhode-islands-stds/","keywords":["Infectious Disease","Social Media","STDs","HIV","gonorrhea","Rhode Island"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Alexandra Sifferlin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"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":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-disease/","name":"Infectious Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3898256/hookup-apps-rhode-islands-stds/","name":"Hookup Apps May Be to Blame for Rhode Island's Spike in STDs"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"How $1,000 Could Help Your Health","description":"From acupuncture to yoga, $1,000 can go a long way to improving your health.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/EILRa37f/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-08-22T16:19:48.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/EILRa37f.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3898256/hookup-apps-rhode-islands-stds/","duration":"PT2M1S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3898256/hookup-apps-rhode-islands-stds/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```