Planned Parenthood is best-known for providing support to people who are expecting a child, but, thanks to a new service, the company is hoping to help save parents from having that whole birds and the bees talk. So all you people out there with young kids who get asked where babies come from, rejoice!
Thanks to a new chatbot from Planned Parenthood, all those embarrassing sex education questions that parents can’t escape being asked by kids will be a thing of the past. The service, called Roo, allows kids to ask questions about things like STIs, relationships and other sex concerns or interests. Even better, rather than be forced to sit and hear all the information from an adult, Roo is anonymous and open to users of all ages — although it’s designed for kids between 13 and 17 — and users can simple text Roo at 22422 anytime, anywhere to get answers immediately.
So, why did Planned Parenthood develop such a service for a younger generation? Here’s what Dr. Leana Wen, Planned Parenthood Federation of America president, said in a statement.
“Developed together with teens, our new one-of-a-kind chatbot is another way Planned Parenthood is expanding ways of delivering personalized, immediate and accurate information to young people,” says Planned Parenthood Federation of America president Dr. Leana Wen in a statement.
“We know that many young people are nervous or embarrassed to ask questions about their sexual health. They often go online to get information and ask their questions anonymously,” Wen adds. “It’s important that our youth receive a reliable answer they can trust.”
Roo is powered by artificial intelligence, which means that, the more people use the service, the more it adapts and learns about sexual wants, needs and concerns of its users, which makes it more reliable for its information. Pretty cool, huh?
While Planned Parenthood also offers an anonymous chat tool for people to call into to talk about sexual education with live health educators, the service has daily hours of operation, meaning this new Roo tool might be the go-to option for the younger generation who seem to always be texting. Plus, this new service can make sex education fun and not so awkward, which is an added bonus for everyone.
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