E-mail and STDs
Is it OK to use an e-card to notify past partners they might be infected?
“And you thought spam mail was bad!” said Linda Diproperzio in Examiner.com. An Internet-based company—www.InSpot.org—is offering a new service to people who have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted disease—electronic greeting cards to notify sexual partners. Recipients can click for information on treatments and nearby clinics.
It’s a good idea, said Andrew McKinnon in Switched, but some of the cards are unnecessarily “cheeky”—one says: “It’s not what you brought to the party. It’s what you left with.” It would be nice if “they’d use a little more tact,” although maybe there’s no nice way to say, “You’ve got an STD.”
Anything that makes breaking the news easier will be helpful, said Eliza Strickland in Discover magazine online. For many people diagnosed with STDs, "notifying past sexual partners of their health risk is a task that's just too humiliating to face." If e-cards can make breaking the news easier, more people will get to the doctor in time.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Scientists want to fight malaria by poisoning mosquitoes with human blood
Under the radar Drugging the bugs
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Crossword: March 31, 2025
The Week's daily crossword
By The Week Staff Published
-
Sudoku medium: March 31, 2025
The Week's daily medium sudoku puzzle
By The Week Staff Published