By Joseph
As a TeenSource Peer Educator, I know how important using condoms is to prevent spreading diseases and to keep myself safe from any possible unintended consequences. Using a condom can prevent becoming a teen parent, because we all know that the “pulling out method” isn’t very effective. Not only do condoms help prevent pregnancy, but they also protect you from spreading a disease that you might not even know you have. It will save you from making the awkward phone call to all of your partners and telling them to get checked out.
I also wanted to find out what my friends thought about condoms and whether they knew how to use condoms properly. Here are some of their answers (names have been changed to protect confidentiality):
Rebecca: "It’s important to use a condom so that I won’t get pregnant. I come from a long line of teenage parents in my family; I want to break the cycle and not be a statistic. You have to pinch a small portion of the tip and spread it down the condom slowly to prevent it from ripping. Most importantly you want to make sure to have it on the correct side."
Sam: "Condoms prevent me from catching/spreading any disease that I have no knowledge of catching. Pinch the top of the condom and spread it down the penis."
Daniel: "I use condoms to prevent catching any STD’S because my friend had one and it freaked me out when he told me about it. So ever since then I use condoms to prevent myself from getting what he had. Putting on a condom -I’m not sure that I’m doing it correct -but pinch the top and squeeze going down is the way to go when putting on a condom. Lube the penis to make sure it can fit and slide down correctly."
If you aren't sure whether you are using condoms, correctly, there are plenty of resources to help you out. Check out this video for a quick tutorial and be safe!