Life

In Case You Needed More Reasons to Use Condoms...

by Emma Cueto

Use condoms, OK people? Just do. Please. To try to spread that message as far and wide as possible, MTV launched the Staying Alive Foundation in 2005, which works all over the world providing grants and promoting awareness around safe sex. Recently, the foundation launched a series of short films to really help get the message across.

As the foundation notes, 5,000 people still die every day due to AIDS, and fully half of all new infections occur among people between the ages of 15 and 24. Yeah...that thing I said about wearing a condom. Do that, please. Because they are good for you in more ways than one, and people really shouldn't have to make the damn things electric for people to not risk dying from unprotected sex.

As part of their campaign, MTV has produced a series of short films to promote condom use and they really drive the point home. And it is an important point. Though most cases of HIV and AIDS can be found sub-Saharan Africa — which is itself tragic — the virus is still being transmitted here in the U.S., too. The CDC estimates that 50,000 people in the United States contract HIV every year . Which is 50,000 too many.

Cases of HIV and AIDS are awful no matter where they happen, and many organizations — including MTV's Staying Alive Foundation — are working all across the globe to stop the spread of the virus. And if you have the urge to visit Dallas, you can help support the cause by getting a ticket to their RE:DEFINE 2014 fundraiser featuring an art auction and live music. The pieces to be auctioned are also on display at the Dallas Contemporary from March 22nd until the auction on April 4.

In the meantime, don't be one of the new cases of infection. Use a condom. And if you need any more convincing, check out some of these videos. They range from funny to creepy, but they get the message across.

Image: MTV