A new service has partnered with a Los Angeles school district – the second largest in the country – to not only deliver STD results by text message, but also to promote the idea children share their “status” as easily as they share the highlight of their day on Facebook. But when it comes to children having sex, it’s never quite that simple now is it?
Qpid.me is the brainchild of Ramin Bastani and operates from the following premise: “We believe that sharing is a good thing and that it can lead to better sexual health decisions, more (safe) sex and fewer STDs.” Bastani went on to tell CNN in an interview: “If it’s cool for a beauty queen to share her STD status [Qpid.me’s celebrity sponsor is Tamie Farrell, Miss California 2009], then maybe kids will start to think it’s cool to share their own results. We want to normalize the idea of sharing your status.”
The process is fairly straightforward. Qpid.me requests patient test results from health clinics (with patient permission, of course) then transmits those results via text, email, and provides access to their online site. The concept of delivering STD results electronically is not necessarily new, or controversial. The danger lies in convincing children there are no concerns about sharing such private information among peers who may not respect their privacy, or, worse may shame them for contracting curable diseases.
