Teen Sexual Health, Essay Example

I find the technology-based initiative to reach teens with important sexual health information to be an extremely innovative decision. Teens are particularly devoted to their smartphones, tablets, and laptops, which makes the Teens in NYC app a great way to communicate with them. In addition to this, many teens are shy, embarrassed, and ashamed to ask sex-health related questions to friends or family, due to peer judgement and the many stigmas surrounding sex. By being completely confidential, and easy to access, the Teens in NYC app can very likely alter the attitudes and unsafe sex habits that many teens possess.

People may advocate for this app, for the reasons being that it is free, which makes it easier for low-income teens to access it. Additionally, since it is an app, and a majority of teenagers own a cellphone, it will reach more teens than any other platform. It is also confidential, which will appeal to teens who may feel anxious about speaking to a family member about birth control and sex.

Contrastingly, people may also deem this program ineffective. Being an app, it may be difficult to reach those who cannot afford a cellphone; especially since teens living in poverty are at the highest risk of pregnancy. Many teenagers may also be too embarrassed to actually visit the providers offering birth control, and many may be unaware that they are having unsafe sex, and feel no need to use the service.

While the Bronx Teens Connections program is a smart way to provide all teens with sexual health knowledge, many teens are still dealing with pregnancy. In my opinion, it would be wise to take sex-ed classes one step further by providing all teens with condoms and optional contraceptive pills, rather than simply educating them about it. This would prevent teens from feeling singled out, since it’s something that will be applied to each student.