Every year, lonely hearts around the world dread the prospect of spending Valentine’s Day without a special someone to spend it with. Such is the case in Costa Rica and any other country where Valentine’s Day is observed as a holiday that celebrates romantic love. This being the 21^st century and an exciting period within the Information Age, lonely hearts in Costa Rica who are in a hurry to find a special someone often turn to the Internet; to this effect, the Personals section of legendary classified ads site Craigslist is a popular option among expats.

As it happens, Personals section of Craigslist in Costa Rica is not generally recommended to those who are looking to establish long-term relationships with future soul mates. A cursory review of the ads posted indicates that the majority of participants are mostly interested in “hookups,” sexual relationships with no-strings-attached. Requests for sexual encounters with multiple partners are also common, and a few of the ads mention “party favors” (drugs) and monetary compensation in exchange for sex (prostitution is not a crime in this country).

Essentially, Craigslist Personals in Costa Rica are pretty much the same as their counterparts in the United States, which means that participants are exposed to a greater risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). A recent article by John Timmer, Senior Science Editor at the respected technology website Ars Technica, cited a comprehensive research study that looks into the rise of STD infection rates in communities and regions in the U.S. where localized version of Craigslist became available from 2005 to 2012.

Here are some of the findings from the study, which was conducted by researchers at the New York University Stern School of Business:

• The entry of Craigslist [in a community] leads to a 14 percent increase in the rate of new AIDS cases, tracking to 6,658 new AIDS infections in the United States each year and resulting in more than $94 million in annual treatment costs.
• The entry of Craigslist creates an 18.8 percent increase in the rate of new syphilis cases, leading to annual treatment costs of more than $0.84 million.
• Specific types of personal ads on Craigslist impact the specific types of STDs. The increase in the AIDS rate is influenced by the number of “Men Seeking Men” ads. The increase in the syphilis rate is influenced by both the number of “Men Seeking Women” and “Women Seeking Men” ads.
• The rise in STD trends caused by Craigslist’s entry into a given market is attributed to casual encounters solicited via the site and not market-related sexual transactions such as prostitution or escort service activities.

Craigslist is hardly the only Internet community where casual encounters involving sex can be arranged; however, its longevity in the online world and the manner in which it has expanded make it a good research subject for longitudinal studies. The takeaway for Craigslist users in Costa Rica is that they should be extra cautious when interacting with participants of the Personals section. To this effect, it is important to review the following conclusion by the head NYU researcher in this study:

“[Craigslist], as a minimally regulated online intermediary with no posting costs, increases the number of transactions taking place, including transactions that have undesirable social consequences,” said Professor Ghose. “Despite the known health risks involved, market participants exert little regulation over their casual sex behavior, resulting in more STD infections and a need for more resources to diagnose and treat infected individuals.”