New York‘s public hospitals have come up with a brilliant way to talk about sex with youth: emojis! Soon, peach and eggplant emojis will start to pop up on young people’s Facebook feeds with the words “Need to talk to someone about ‘it’?” And a monkey with his hand over his mouth will offer advice on how to get confidential emergency contraception.
“The social media posts are part of a campaign by NYC Health & Hospitals to reach young people ages 12 to 21 and encourage them to seek confidential care for sexual and reproductive health, like testing for sexually transmitted diseases and pregnancy, at one of the 20 YouthHealth centers across the five boroughs,” reports The New York Times. The campaign is also trying to eliminate all barriers to seeking out sexual health services, such as immigrant status, sexual orientation, ability to pay, and it’s all completely confidential—things young people often aren’t aware of when deciding if they should seek out health care. The campaign found that kids don’t usually turn to their parents for information about sex—while the emojis were a very effective way of bringing up the “birds and the bees.” After all, the language of (sexual) emojis is universal!
Looking for a little “emoji” fun yourself? We’ve got all the eggplants and peaches you’ll ever need right here!
Check out more about New York public hospitals using emojis to reach youth about sex: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/
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