Choices: A Comic about the Choices Teens Face Every Day

This is a six episode online comic strip about teens Christy, Diana, John, and their friends – about how they make sexual and reproductive choices.

The reader can interact with the story, comment, vote on what the characters should or should not do, take a quiz to test their knowledge, and participate in other activities. The site also offers the user the opportunity to ask questions of the professionals at Planned Parenthood.

When it was first launched in 2011 and promoted intensively, “CHOICES” received as many as 268 visitors in a month. From then until now, it has averaged about 60 visitors per month. “CHOICES” has spurred a number of thoughtful and thought-provoking online comments from readers. It prompted some comments from readers who seem to be adults eager to tell teens what to do — that they should focus on schoolwork not sex and remain abstinent until marriage. But it also generated comments from readers who seem to be teens saying how they identify with the characters’ situations and think the comic strip offers some constructive ideas about how to handle the realities of their lives.

Source: Planned Parenthood of New York City

Date of Publication: March 25, 2019