This New Sex-Ed App for Teens Aims to Change the Game

It’s no secret that sex education in many parts of this country is abysmal. Kids aren’t learning what they NEED to know, they’re being taught what adults have decided they should know. There’s no reason to be ashamed or scared of teaching our tweens and teens about sex. At some point, probably sooner than we’re prepared for, they WILL have sex. And making sure they’re educated and ready for that should be our first priority. A new sex-ed app on the market hopes to get that discussion back on track, and make talking about sex easier and more comfortable for the next generation.

The new sex-ed app is called Real Talk. The developers are hoping that it’ll be a really easy tool for teens to use, to ask the questions they have but might be embarrassed to discuss outside of their peers.

The app was co-founded by three women: Liz Chen, Cristina Leos, and Vichi Jagannathan. The women met at various points of the schooling, and came together because they share a commitment to making health information more accessible to young people.

All of the content generated on the app is by actual teenagers. They create an account, view a short tutorial, and are then able to search for topics of interest. There are questions, personal stories, and links to outside resources like Planned Parenthood.

Using middle-school focus groups, the co-founders were able to narrow down what was missing from sex-education. They focused on what actual tweens and teens needed and wanted. Leos says the kids wanted “to know others are going through the same awkward, puberty-related moments that they were going through”. That, according to Jagannathan, is what makes Real Talk special. She says, “from the eyes of a user, it’s not a sex-ed app. When users look at it, it tells them that everyone is going through the same things they’re going through and that they’re not alone.”

The app is available for download from the Apple app store. Does this sound like something your tween or teen would use? And would you feel comfortable with them using it?

(Image: Real Talk)

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