12,000 Edinburgh students sign up to ‘no-strings sex website’

SEX-STARVED students in Edinburgh have been flocking to a “no-strings sex website”, with more than 12,000 signing up in less than two months.

Singletons have been eschewing their studies and joining www.Sh*gAtUni.com, a website which encourages members to send explicit messages to find someone for casual sex.

Website founder Tom Thurlow, 22, said there had been a massive response by 18 to 30-year-olds in Edinburgh, particularly among the male population.

Figures showed the city has 12,000 registered users, including 6000 active users – people who regularly visit the site and contact each other. Of those, 5000 are men, outnumbering the 1000 women users by five to one.

“I think the evidence clearly shows Scottish men are hornier than English men,” he said. “It’s not unusual for there to be more males than females, but Edinburgh has a large male user base, ratio-wise. Edinburgh has got one of the biggest gaps with a lot more males than females signing up.

“I find it funny when I look at the statistics and learn things like this. The website is definitely more popular in the north. The uptake has been phenomenal.”

Members post Facebook-style profiles and can upload photographs to the site which costs men £5 for the first month and then £89.95 a year. Women can sign up annually for free.

The website uses postcodes to locate how far away potential matches are.

City council statistics show there were nearly 58,000 students enrolled in the Capital’s universities during 2010-11 and Mr Thurlow hopes to tap into more of the market.

He said: “I want to go around universities on a tour to learn first-hand what people think of it, so I’ll have to come to Edinburgh. All the feedback I have had so far has been really positive and I’m hoping that I will get a few case studies I can show.”

Robert McKay, director of sexual health charity the Terrence Higgins Trust, said the website showed how technological advances had made it easier for people to meet for casual sex.

He urged people to make sure they have safe sex to stop the spread of sexually transmitted infections and HIV.

“There are an estimated 7200 people in Edinburgh living with a sexually transmitted disease and, out of that, 1020 of those people are estimated to be living with HIV,” he said.

“A number of years ago the way to do it would be going to a club or bar. People still do that but they are also using what they can for convenience like websites and digital apps.

“If you’re going to do it then please be safe. Use a condom and make sure you meet in a safe place that’s been agreed and make sure you get regular sexual health checks.”

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