Health experts in the United Kingdom warned that the popularity of dating apps such as Tinder and Happn may trigger an upsurge in cases of sexually-transmitted infections.
People switching partners frequently on various dating apps could lead to a tipping point which is enough to result to an "HIV explosion", one of the experts said.
Dr. Peter Greenhouse from the British Association for Sexual Health and HIV explained that the quicker app users change partners, the more at risk they are for getting an HIV infection.
"You could even be in a bar, swipe this way or that way and find that there's somebody on the other side of the bar who is up for it," said Greenhouse.
He said that if app users who quickly change partners had untreated sexually-transmitted infections, it may contribute to an explosion of cases in the heterosexual population.
Greenhouse meanwhile suggests that social networking apps should invest more time in advocating a safe sex message.
Many creators of these dating apps say that they do promote safe sex. Other dating apps even show the status of users concerning their sexual health.
Marie Cosnard, head of trends at Happn, believes that dating apps are not to blame for the increase in HIV cases.
"Dating apps are following wider social trends and changing behaviors that have been unfolding for decades," said Cosnard.
She said the public's attitude toward the status of relationships, divorce, marriages, and the number of partners has been shifting and becoming more liberalized.
She also added that people should be educated and responsible in terms of sexual health, no matter where and how they had met their partner.
Meanwhile, cases of syphilis in the UK have increased by 33 percent while cases of gonorrhoea increased by 19 percent last year, according to Public Health England.
The British National Surveys of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles however released a report which revealed that the increase of HIV cases, especially cases of chlamydia, is not due to the change in sexual behavior but the increase in diagnosis and testing.
Online Dating Association (ODA) said that about 25 to 40 percent of new relationships now begin on the online platform, but it is still difficult to pinpoint exactly how many people meet through these dating apps.
ODA Chief Executive George Kidd said that although the members of the association are dating sites and not sex-encounter businesses, they will still be cautious in case any situation involving sexual health occurs within their reach.
