This year’s Sexual Health Week has the theme ‘Chronically Online – Love, Sex and Relationships’.

Starting on Monday, the week long campaign will be exploring how social media and digital culture influence our understanding of sex, relationships, and health and how quickly myths can spread.

Guernsey’s Public Health team warns this can have a serious impact on peoples’ health and wellbeing.

The team at the Orchard Centre, the sexual health clinic based at the hospital, are working with Public to raise awareness of the importance of good sexual health.

They said the benefits of good sexual and reproductive health are far-reaching and all-encompassing. These include good physical, emotional, mental and social health and wellbeing relating to sexuality and self-confidence in creating healthy sexual relationships throughout an individual’s life.

Dr Nicola Brink, Director of Public Health, said from contraception to sexually transmitted infections and HIV prevention, online misinformation can create confusion and potentially cause harm.

“In this world that is changing so rapidly, we all need to have access to accurate and reliable information. We need to be able to tackle misinformation and support healthier choices for everyone. We cannot be drowned by online noise and misinformation.

“We need to consider the recent rapid advances in AI and how it can be used effectively to improve sexual health services. How do we make sense of what’s real and what’s not in a world of deepfakes? To what extent are social media algorithms shaping public perceptions of contraception and reinforcing gender stereotypes? We need to empower young people to think critically about the information they view online. These issues are likely to become increasingly prominent in the future.”

Laura Brouard, Nurse Consultant and Orchard Centre Service Manager, said: “This awareness week is so important because it gives us the chance to challenge myths, share facts, and signpost people to trusted advice. Accurate knowledge empowers people to make informed decisions about their health.”

Some common misconceptions

Public Health warns that there are a number of common misconceptions around sexual health, which have been fuelled by misinformation being shared online.

These include:

• Myth: The contraceptive pill makes you infertile.

• Fact: Fertility usually returns quickly after stopping the pill. Most people can become pregnant within a few months.

• Myth: Hormonal contraception always causes weight gain.

• Fact: Research shows there’s no consistent link. Some people may notice small changes, but it’s not universal.

• Myth: You can tell if someone has a STI just by looking at them.

• Fact: Most STIs don’t have visible symptoms. The only way to know is to get tested.

• Myth: You only need to get tested if you have symptoms.

• Fact: Many STIs are symptomless but can still cause long-term health problems if left untreated.