"In 2009, the percentage of sexually active high school students who reported using a condom the most recent time they had sexual intercourse was 61%, up from 46% in 1991. In 2009, 69% of high school boys and 54% of high school girls used a condom at last sexual intercourse."

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus10.pdf#073

I was thinking more about 20-somethings than high schoolers. I'm far too removed from high school to know what they do, but I'd guess it's not as easy for them to get birth control due to their parents. But if you pick up a 25 year old girl from a bar and bring her home, she's probably on the pill and she won't want to use a condom.

That's a horrifying thought. I'm planning on doing "the talk" with my children starting with a latex condom and working outwards.

"Sex is a beautiful thing shared between two people and a latex condom from a reliable brand"...

Having the talk is great, but don't forget that some people have latex allergy and latex condoms can be uncomfortable. Of course, there are a great many materials for condoms, so all is not lost.

> ... and a latex condom from a reliable brand"...

Aren't they all required by law to be reliable?

I have no idea what the current regulatory climate for condom manufacturing is.

I just know that I'm going to trust an established brand that's sold by the box in the drug store over a no-name brand sold singly from a vending machine in the bathroom of a bowling alley.

Don't knock the bowling alley machine. Condoms are like cameras. The best one is the one you have with you and actually use. :)

It is probably better than nothing.

From what I see in the younger members of the MSM community in Norway, this is true. While they use condoms at times, I know plenty of people in their 20s who admit that they don't always use condoms, even outside of committed relationships.

Granted, this procedure is only helpful for the community if it actually is shown to reduce the risk of HIV transmission, and it's not a cure, but anything that helps reduce the risk is a good thing.

Depending on what you mean by "young," I respectfully disagree. Highschool? Middleschool? College? All of the above? Speaking for myself and the people I know (early twenties, college-educated kids), condoms are pretty common place. A lot more common place, actually, than birth control. But then again, I don't have a large sample size that cuts across socio-economic backgrounds.

You would think after the aids scare of the 80s and 90s this wouldn't be the case.

It would not be the case with people that were alive and mature enough at the time to be cognizant of the situation. I think the OP is referring to people who were not around at the time...

Not to mention that HIV/AIDs is no longer the death sentence that it used to be. So even among those who are cognizant of what it was like in the 80s, they also know that it isn't like that anymore.

It's still crazy to expose yourself to the virus. The antivirals you get for HIV infection have lots of nasty side effects, and even with treatment you're still likely to die well before your uninfected peers.

Absolutely. But the image in the pop culture mind is one of Earvin Johnson and not Ryan White.

I don't know why you were downvoted for this because, at least in my town, this is completely true. The rate of single young[1] people getting pregnant is through the roof... and the attitude (from some young people I know personally) seems to be "whatever, fuck it"

[1] I mean 18 to 21 year olds.

On HN for 1310 days and you don't know why streptomycin was downvoted? Bit surprising.

It's because he or she offers no references or even any explanation of where this bold (if not just flat out wrong) claim comes from. Your supporting evidence, commonly derided as anecdata, is not much better.