Health officials are trying to use teenagers’ favorite technology, the cell phone, to fight disease and unwanted pregnancies, reports the New York Times. The special cell phone, set on vibrate, begins to whir. Throughout North Carolina, anonymous teenagers are texting questions to it about sex. “If you take a shower before you have sex, are you less likely to get pregnant?” asks one. Another: “Does a normal penis have wrinkles?” A young girl types: “If my BF doesn’t like me to be loud during sex but I can’t help it, what am I supposed to do?” Within 24 hours, each will receive a cautious, nonjudgmental reply, texted directly to their cell phones, from a nameless, faceless adult at the Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Campaign of North Carolina. The Birds and Bees Text Line, which the center started Feb. 1, is among the latest efforts by health educators to reach teenagers through technology—sex ed on their turf. Sex education in the classroom, say many epidemiologists and public health experts, is often ineffective or just insufficient…

Click here for the full story