A startling number of men have never been tested for STDs

I’m not single, and I don’t swim in the dating pool, but if I did, this stat would make me swear off men. Or I’d be planning romantic dates to the doctor’s office, where a doctor could confirm that the future love of my life was not about to unknowingly give me an STD.

Because apparently men aren’t really getting tested. And for that matter, neither are enough women, which only adds to the pool of people who could have an STD but have no idea.

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A survey by Kindara, a fertility app, asked 500 men and 500 women about their sex lives and found that 44 percent of men and 30 percent of women have never been tested for STDs. It also found that men did tend to have far more sexual partners than women did, so the fact that the percentage of men not taking their sexual health seriously is higher only makes it more alarming.

Even further, only about 23 percent of those who have been tested say they go regularly, and 16 percent were tested once and never went back (let’s hope they adopted an abstinence way of life or grew old with someone they love). And the survey did not ask whether the respondents were in committed relationships, which could explain a lot. But if this survey does represent the mass of sexually active singles, then we all should be scared.

More: Monogamy may not protect you from STDs as well as you thought

It’s simple: If you’re sexually active, you should be mature enough to understand that getting checked for STDs is not just for your own health; it’s disrespectful to everyone you sleep with if you don’t. And if you don’t care about respecting your sex partners, you really don’t deserve all those orgasms you’re having.

It seems we’re all still more concerned about preventing pregnancy than STDs, but meanwhile both have the potential to completely change your life. Maybe it’s because we’re scared, maybe it’s because it’s awkward to talk about, but whatever it is, we shouldn’t downplay the importance of sexual health. It may not be “sexy” to talk about STDs, but we’re all adults here, and the fact is, your hookups affect more than you.