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Today’s Ypulse Interview is with Margaret Lucas, Youth Marketing Manager of ISIS, Inc. on the upcoming Sex::Tech conference that ISIS will be hosting on February 26 and 27 in SF.  Along with keeping Ypulse readers informed on what’s happening at the intersection between technology and sexual health, we also wanted to support ISIS as one of the marketing partners helping us get the word out about our own Ypulse Youth Marketing Mashup in May.

Ypulse: What inspired the Sex::Tech conference? Since last year’s event, what was the most significant thing you saw happen in youth-related sexual health?

Margaret Lucas: Sex::Tech was inspired by the need to bring researchers, funders and providers together in one place to explore how the utilization of technology to reach youth with critical sexual health information could strengthen all efforts.

Early on it was evident that the digital technology like the Internet and mobile could be used to deliver sexual health information or facilitate discussions around education that would otherwise happen behind closed doors or would be considered shameful. Young people are always early adopters of emerging technology and it’s easier to reach them with information they need (even if they think they don’t need it) via that technology, rather than trying to drag them to a new platform.

The most significant thing we’ve seen in youth-related sexual health has been the US government’s change in abstinence-only sexual health education policy. Rather than focusing solely on abstinence, with the possibility of sex only after marriage, these new curriculums will include abstinence as a component of comprehensive sexual health information.

YP: For this year’s event, what are you most excited about?

ML: We’re excited to highlight some of the experts, successes and innovations of those working to reach youth with sexual health information via technology.

Sex::Tech 2010 will unveil some successful sexual health campaigns like MTV’s Get Yourself Tested Now, at GYTnow.org. We will also feature new integrations of older technology, such as Christianne Johnson from Partnership for Prevention’s presentation “Preventing the Spread of HPV with “Fact Check: HPV”, A Novel Facebook Application.”

We’re also excited to help our attendees determine what technology is best for them by comparing the different types, with sessions like “Call It Like You See It: Comparing Cellular and Web-Based Services for Sex Education” by Heather Corinna of Scarleteen.com.

We’re pumped to highlight youth-led advocacy, Q&A’s with student peer sex educators and finalists from our Say What?!? Sex Ed Contest. I can’t wait to see what kind of information hits the stage as our audience picks their brains.

YP: Are there any sexual health resources you’ve recently seen online that have really impressed you? Which ones and why?

ML: Scarleteen is a sexual resource website that is by far our favorite. It provides comprehensive sexual health information from birth control to expert relationship advice. Scarleteen has message boards, a listing of crisis hotlines and articles about what’s happening in the world of sexual health. It really is a one-stop shop! Scarleteen’s own Heather Corinna will be at Sex::Tech 2010, on one of our “I’m a…” panels discussing feminism in online sexuality education and direct services. Definitely not to be missed!

YP: What is the biggest myth or misinformation teens have today about sex? How can health workers address those issues?

ML: ISIS’ latest contest, Say What?!?, is actually all about exposing the myths and misinformation young people are receiving so we can seize that moment and give them the facts. With Say What?!? we ask young people to tell us the craziest sex advice given to them by an adult. We’ve heard everything from “you can still get an STD from a toilet seat” to “eating peanut butter and jelly after sex will prevent pregnancy.”

Health workers can address those myths by providing an environment that facilitates open and honest communication to explore and dispel those myths. They should also utilize the technology that young people are familiar with like mobile and social networking sites. Those mediums will give health workers an idea of the types of myths they’re up against and give them the tools to prepare. You’d never guess how much you can learn about youth culture by lurking on Facebook!

YP: What can attendees expect to take away from the Sex::Tech conference?

ML: Attendees can expect to walk away with amazing networking opportunities with those working in sexual health and technology. We’re particularly keen on connecting those working with youth to those who can help them with technology to strengthen their interventions, as we’ll have widget and app developers mixed in the crowd.

Attendees can also expect to walk away with a dose of youth perspective from our youth-led panels. Sex::Tech is all about giving young people a forum to talk to adults who influence sex ed delivery about their sexual health needs and wants. We’d like our attendees to walk away with an understanding of those needs and an understanding of the technology they are using, and then take this knowledge back to their organizations and integrate those proven methods into their interventions. They will also learn about ways to mobilize youth to become advocates for their own sexual health, with sessions like “Facing AIDS for World AIDS Day – Year 2: Lessons Learned from AIDS.gov” with Josie Halpern-Finnerty of John Snow Inc./ AIDS.gov. Young people were asked take a picture of themselves with a red ribbon and upload it to their social network profiles for the 20th World AIDS Day.

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