“A beautiful face is a mute recommendation” -Publilius Syrus
Why are the physically/photogenically attractive at greater risk?
I’m Chelsea Penner, Dating Coach for SwaggerScan here discuss a timely topic in the world of tech – pretty people and STDs. Hopefully I have your attention because, while not all of us can get 10k likes from posting a ‘good morning selfie’, at some point we all have been attracted to someone appealing to the natural eye. The more internet-encounters one has can mean more chances, however unfortunate, to encounter someone with a sexually transmitted disease. For those with tons of followers, this may mean a more than likely scenario for the chance that you will come across someone who’s contracted an undisclosed disease. If you’ve been following along, you should already know of the STD/STI pandemic around the world, so forgive my redundancy. But for everyone new to SwaggerScan, our mission is to increase your awareness so that you can make more informed decisions when it comes to dating ( i.e. online dating).
Why millennials?
The age of the internet began in 1995. According to Pew Research, the ‘millennial’ generation is defined as anyone born between 1981 and 1996. This means that if you were born during this time, you may have a more engaging approach to the internet. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), new cases of STD’s/STI’s in the U.S. have reached an all time high. There have also been numerous reports of online encounters ending in litigation due to the passing of STD/STI’s. As discussed in ‘5 Ways to Avoid STDs’, we can no longer expect our internet encounters to all have a clean bill of health. We must all come to realize this worldwide pandemic also lives on the internet.
Here’s something new
Attractive people with STDs
A study, published in Psychological Science, suggests people pay closer attention to those they find attractive. This study provides proof to the theory that a ‘tipped scale’ may exist for those of us with perceived beauty. But at what cost? According to the (CDC) Center for Disease Control, 1 in 5 Americans who actually have HIV aren’t aware that they have it. For the physically gifted, increased online dating encounters means an inflated number of encounters with others who may know their status or they may not. You’ll never know (or you could find out when its too late) if you fail to incorporate an inquisitive strategy into your bag of get-to-questions.
Do I consider myself to have ‘perceived physical beauty’?
Does you receive extreme amounts of requests,’likes’, and direct messaging from total strangers even though you aren’t a famous entertainer? Do your most frivolous posts of things like ‘I’m sleepy’ or ‘I’m bored’ result in a response from friendly strangers wanting to intermingle? Or do you have a noticeable amount of what I call legion-followers (followers who don’t care to be followed back by their profile of choice and still they deliver gratuitous ‘likes’ and comments)? If all or any of the above listed occurrences sound familiar, then yes, this journal is meant for you to help you navigate with strategy.
Smarter get-to-know questions
The first thing we all must do is change what we identify as the most important thing to discover when meeting someone new. The traditional get-to-know questions like – what’s their favorite color or favorite food or hobby, should all take a backseat to the questions that are literally life and death. Would you care if a person’s smile lights the room if you knew they’ve never once been tested for STD’s/STI’s? Asking any mix of get-to-know questions are to your discretion as long as you remember to ‘Always Scan Your Swagger’ (a phrase meaning to – ‘always get tested, always know your partner’s status, and always use condoms and contraceptives during intimacy’).
Being under-informed increases risk
For most young adults who were parented by a ‘baby boomer’ (according to investopedia.com, a ‘baby boomer‘ is described as a person born between 1946 and 1964), covering the topic of ‘the birds and the bees’ consisted of traditional solutions for avoiding the unwanted. If the only parental advice you’ve ever received about dating consisted of phrases like – ‘don’t get pregnant’ and ‘wear protection’, you are under-informed. If you’ve had sexual intercourse and haven’t been tested, you should immediately get tested and connect with us
Knowing is key
In order to safeguard personal health and survive today’s dating climate, you must first know your own status. Aside from the obvious reason for getting tested and knowing, the other equally important task is to require the same from an intimate partner. Self care increases self worth and knowing your own status will help you remain diligent during the discovery phase of courtship. Does your new flame know his/her status? Ask and verify!
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Final thoughts
For those who’ve never experienced what its like to receive constant attention on the social media, you may not get it. The internet can make for an magnetic experience for those with stunning selfies. The question is should the beautiful go unchecked or unquestioned? Should beautiful people approach things differently when meeting online? Is online dating out of the question or is it prime real estate for those with favorable exterior features? And when inquiring about someone’s health status, how can we really know for sure if the person is lying or telling the truth? The easy answer to the question of avoiding an unfortunate circumstance would be to avoid having sex and remain abstinent. *Please note: the only way to discover whether you and your intimate partner are both STD free would be to get tested and review results together. For those who still aren’t convinced that the time has come to immediately modify your approach, you don’t have to take our word for it. Please check out Dating Apps and their role in rising STDs
Time to execute!
Don’t assume anything when it comes to internet encounters. This is the moment in time where we hope you remember the principles of SwaggerScan. A seemingly worthy contender may not conduct themselves in the safest of principles and skeletons a strategy adjustment is required. Ask yourself, would you consider having any kind of physical contact with someone without first knowing their status? Are you prepared to have this conversation before letting your guard down? Do you have healthy habits? Are you asking the right questions before allowing someone into your space? With so many connections showing interest in your time, you must develop a healthy strategy. You must have a strategy that is consistently applied and one which is based on the obstacles of the current dating climate. Part of hurdling this issue is to understand the severity of the problem. You must also understand that the problem and solution is the direct result of what happens after you read this article.