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Our Webby Awards entry is a show about contraception

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December 1, 2018 at 2:15 p.m. EST

We know shockingly little about many of the conveniences we rely on in modern life.

The cars we drive, the trains we ride, the smartphones into which we type our most sensitive personal data — for most of us, their inner workings are pure mystery.

The same goes for our birth control. Questions abound about the tiny pills — or patches, or condoms, or intrauterine devices — that we count on to sidestep unwanted pregnancies.

Many women have obsessively Googled questions like these, along with other reproductive health queries.

Google no further. The Lily’s video series, “When Used Correctly,” has answers for you.

Each episode is approximately three minutes. There are seven total — just 21 minutes to binge-watch the bunch.

“When Used Correctly” is a trustworthy and educational source on contraception and reproductive health. The series uses a direct, conversational tone and strong visual voice – elements our followers have come to expect from The Lily.

As part of our platform-first approach to distribution, we created “When Used Correctly” for Facebook Watch and IGTV. The first season has received more than one million views across Facebook, IGTV, Snapchat, YouTube and Apple News.

The Internet can be educational. It can also be anxiety-inducing and wildly inaccurate. Scouring websites for health info can fuel cyberchondria, the digital version of hypochondria. Here are two sites you can trust, according to a board certified family nurse practitioner: birth control site Bedsider.org and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

What is Cyberchondria? | Episode 1 | Season 1

Do you stay up at night googling reproductive health questions? There's a name for that.

Posted by When Used Correctly on Thursday, June 21, 2018

For heterosexual couples who are both under age 30 who have sex once a week and don’t use birth control, over what percent of them will be pregnant within a year? Find out the answer in this episode.

Answers to 5 common contraception questions | Episode 2 | Season 1

Do you know the answers to these five contraception questions?

Posted by When Used Correctly on Thursday, June 28, 2018

Measuring less than 2 inches, Nexplanon — the birth control implant that’s inserted in your arm — is short, but its life span is lengthy. The hormonal-based implant can ward off pregnancy for up to four years. Meet one woman who has the implant and another who’s considering it.

I got the arm implant | Episode 3 | Season 1

"It looked like a stapler." Hear answers to common questions about the arm implant.

Posted by When Used Correctly on Thursday, July 5, 2018

The Dalkon Shield, an early IUD, was used by more than 2 million women in the United States and throughout the world in the 1970s and 1980s. But the aftereffects were severe: Many of those women got pelvic inflammatory disease, and many died. These days, IUDs are more effective and less invasive.

The surprising history of the IUD | Episode 4 | Season 1

Do you have an IUD? If you were born in the 1950s, you might've had the Dalkon Shield. It killed at least 20 women and caused many other complications. See what it looked like, along with the Lippes Loop and other early contraceptive devices.

Posted by When Used Correctly on Thursday, July 12, 2018

In 1960, the pill became available for contraceptive use. It was a hit. Five years later, 6.5 million American women used pill. But this early design flaw gave many women anxiety.

A key innovation in how we use the pill today | Episode 5 | Season 1

This early design flaw gave many women anxiety.

Posted by When Used Correctly on Thursday, July 19, 2018

What do “Gilmore Girls” and “Seinfeld” have in common? Both cultural touchstones feature scenes that hinge on birth control. In the former, Lorelai fears she might be pregnant after a night with her boyfriend, Luke, that got “primordial.” Despite the show’s focus on women, the episode is vague and skittish when it comes to the specifics of birth control. “Seinfeld,” however, takes the opposite approach. Elaine is forthright about her preferred contraceptive — the sponge — and when the product is pulled from shelves, limiting her supply, she’s unapologetic about gauging whether a guy’s “sponge-worthy.”

Lorelai, Elaine and contraception | Episode 6 | Season 1

Pop culture video editor Nicki DeMarco uncovers the many methods of approaching birth control on television.

Posted by When Used Correctly on Thursday, July 26, 2018

Lisa Bonos, writer and editor of The Washington Post’s Solo-ish, was in a new relationship that had more potential than any other in recent years. Until they had an argument about birth control that changed everything.

A breakup over birth control | Episode 7 | Season 1

Washington Post Solo-ish editor Lisa Bonos was in a new relationship that had more potential than any other in recent years. Until they had an argument about birth control that changed everything.

Posted by When Used Correctly on Thursday, August 2, 2018