America’s doctors are using a tried-and-true tactic to teach America’s tweens about sex: Meet them where they are.
Here in 2020, that means one thing. Fire up the TikTok machine.
The #tiktokdoc will see you now
The New York Times ran down all the ways M.D.’s are turning TikTok into a less-than-a-minute clinic:
- Dr. Danielle Jones, a gynecologist with 4.2m likes, dishes out advice (like what to do if the condom breaks) and busts myths (about Plan B).
- Dr. Rose Leslie, who specializes in family medicine, has covered coronavirus, the HPV vaccine, and the benefits of daily exercise. She’s racked up 9.7m likes.
It sounds wholesome. But this is the internet, and the internet finds a way to ruin everything.
Just ask the doc who Tok’d about vaccines
Dr. Nicole Baldwin, a pediatrician in Cincinnati, posted a viral clip pointing out all the diseases that can be prevented with vaccines — which don’t cause autism. She was bombarded with threats.
Vaccine talk isn’t the only thing to spark controversy.
Angry Twitter users spawned a competing hashtag (er, #tiktokdocsGoneWild) to criticize docs who tell young patients that they can see them without their parents — for things like birth control and STD screening.
One time, the advice was just plain bad
Last month, a TikTok user calling herself Nurse Holly deleted a video in the face of a giant backlash. Her clip said waiting to have sex until you’re married was the best way to prevent STDs.