SEXUAL AND SEXUALITY DISCOURSE AMONG STUDENTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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SEXUAL AND SEXUALITY DISCOURSE AMONG STUDENTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
CHAPITRE ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The amount of content available through modern media (Internet, social media, computers, MP3 players, handheld video players, cell phones, and so on) is nearly endless.
In this mediated environment, sexual conversation and displays are becoming more common and explicit. Researchers discovered that sexual content ranging from flirting to sexual intercourse has increased dramatically on the internet and social media over the last decade (Brown, 2000; Fisher & Barak, 2001; Ybarra & Mitchell, 2005; Escobar-Chaves et al, 2005; Brown, Keller & Stern, 2009; Kaiser Family Foundation, 2010).
Social media are sites where children can encounter and/or generate sexual text, photographs, and videos (Collins et al, 2011; Chika & Ojih, 2013; Brown, Keller, & Stern, 2009; Ellison et al., 2007; Peluchette & Karl, 2010; Braun-Courville & Rojas, 2000).
Students are immersed in contemporary media, with social media, cell phones, and instant messaging playing significant roles in their daily lives (Collins et al, 2010; Pempek et al, 2009). They display information about their sexuality on their online social media profiles, indicating their sexual orientation and sexual interests, they post songs and poems about sexual desires and experiences on blogs, they share nude or semi-nude pictures and videos of themselves on social media and via mobile phones (sexting), and they discuss sexual practises and experiences on SM and blogs (Brown, Keller, & Stern, 2009).
Students who consume sexually tempting information on Sm acquire or perpetuate sexual permissive attitudes. Rojas and Braun-Courville, 2000). According to Kelleher and Sweetser (2012), online sexual behaviours are connected with a higher acceptance of casual sexual behaviour.
According to Kelleher and Sweetser (2012), content production is likely to build the foundation of teenagers’ attitudes towards sex and subsequent sexual behaviours throughout their lives. My research will seek to identify the impact of social media mediated sex and sexual depictions on student sexuality discourse, attitudes, and behaviour.
A number of studies undertaken in Nigeria have showed that the majority of adolescent risky sexual behaviours occur at a young age (Maticka-Tyndale et al., 2005; Oindo, 2002; adolescent Fact Book, 2010; Kabiru & Orpinas, 2008; Adam and Mutungi 2007, Njue et al., 2011; Mathenge, 2008; Akwara et al, 2003; CBS, 2004).
According to Njue et al. (2011), youth in Nigeria have casual, unprotected, coercive, and transactional intercourse with several and concurrent partners on a regular basis. According to (Ochieng, Kakai, & Abok, 2010), by the age of 20, more than half of Nigerian youngsters are sexually active.
According to Youth Fact Book (2010), 11% of young women and 22% of young men aged 15 to 24 had their first sexual encounter before the age of 15. By the age of 18, 47% of young women and 58% of young males had experienced their first sexual encounter.
According to a research conducted in Kisumu, western Nigeria, 73% of the young were sexually active, with 84% engaging in frequent sexual encounters and 79.7% maintaining single partner sexual interactions (Oindo, 2002). According to Mathenge (2008), 36% of girls aged 14-25 in elite schools in Kwara state, Nigeria, had their first sexual experience before the age of 15, and 75% did not use any protection.
Risky sexual behaviours put students at risk of developing HIV/AIDS and other STIs, as well as psychological/emotional issues. According to studies, students account for more than half of all new HIV infections (about 7,000 per day) (WHO, 2006). Youth had the highest number of new HIV cases in Nigeria (Central Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Health, 2004).
75% of new HIV infections among youngsters aged 15-24 years occurred in 2005 (Government of Nigeria 2005). Every year, between the ages of 13 and 24, thousands of Nigerian teenagers are diagnosed with unplanned pregnancies, abortions, and STIs/AIDS. Oindo (2002, Oindo).
Researchers, policymakers, parents, and educators have all expressed an interest in addressing dangerous sexual behaviours among kids. This is shown by the massive lobbying, policy, and legal actions, particularly in poor countries, addressing student-related concerns such as health, sexuality, education, and unemployment, to name a few.
The challenges raised in Nigeria’s youth framework policies are addressed. According to Collins et al. (2011), substantial study efforts have been committed to understanding what led to these sexual risk behaviours outcomes given their enormous social, economic, and public health ramifications.
Relevant questions include: why do students become sexually active at such an early age? What variables accelerate sexual beginning and what factors postpone it? Collins and colleagues (2004). Research has identified and demonstrated how media can influence media content consumers (Pempek et al, 2009; Gruber & Grube, 2000; Aubrey etal, 2003; Brown & Witherspoon, 2002; Kelleher & Sweetser, 2012; Borzekowski & Rickert, 2001; Strouse, Buerkel-Rothfuss & Long, 1995; Greeson & Williams, 1986; Brown, Keller & Stern, 2009).
Youth socialisation is greatly influenced by the media (Debra, Braun Courville, & Rojas, 2009). In addition to peers, schools, and parents, adolescents and students frequently name the media as an important source of sexual information (Borzekowski & Rickert, 2001; Strouse, Buerkel-Rothfuss, & Long, 1995; Greeson & Williams, 1986; Brown, Keller, & Stern, 2009).
The media is assumed to impact human beliefs, perceptions, actions, and behaviours. From the days of television and radio to the present day of cybernetics, media has demonstrated a remarkable ability to impact the recipients of media messages. Students can learn about sexual behaviours through the media. Television, newspapers, books, radio, magazines, films, and the internet have all had an impact on how young people perceive sexuality.
Adolescents are exposed to sexual content in the media during a developmental phase when gender roles, sexual attitudes, and sexual behaviours are being formed, according to (Gruber & Grube, 2000). Entertainment media conveys a wide range of messages about falling in love, relationships, and sexual wants, shaping sexual attitudes, values, and practises (Tom et al, 2010; Barber, 2011). Youth are influenced by media in terms of fashion, popular culture, language, sexuality, and lifestyle. This implies that the media is a valuable source of information for students as they build their own sexual views and patterns of sexual behaviour.
Students use their media presenting experiences and knowledge to form their own perspectives and capabilities (Bale, 2011). When parents and schools are unwilling to discuss sexual issues with their children, the media might become their primary source of information.
Sexuality issues are veiled in taboos and myths in many Nigerian civilizations. This causes students to resort to the media and peers, who may provide them with inaccurate and/or unsuitable information (Toroitich-Ruto, 1997). According to Youth Fact Book (2010), media accounts for 24% of sexuality information gained by youth.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Every day, sexual content on social media becomes more explicit (Huston, Wartella, & Donnerstein, 1998; Kunkel et al, 2007; Stern, 2007; Strasburger, 2010). Because it provides anonymity and easy access to sexual content, social media is becoming a great, handy, and enticing alternative for students to communicate about sex and sexuality without embarrassment. Students and teenagers are assaulted with verbal and visual sexual scripts on dating, intimacy, relationships, and sex on these social platforms. According to the majority of academics, new media is more sexually explicit than conventional media.
Not only has new media expedited the rate of communication, but it has also turned students from passive consumers of sexual content to active providers of sexual knowledge (Chika & Ojih, 2013; Braun-Courville & Rojas, 2000). Brown, Keller, and Stern (2009) found that young people are posting and sharing naked or semi-naked images of themselves on social media and through mobile phones (sexting). When adolescents and students see and consume sexually suggestive information on social media, they may develop or reinforce sexual permissiveness attitudes.
In Nigeria, there is an increase in incidences of internet pornography addiction, particularly among students. Social media platforms such as Facebook are among the most addictive. According to a Plan International and Cradle survey, 30.62% of the children interviewed having encountered sexually provocative material on Facebook at least once. In 2004, several cyber in Kwara state stated that children and students downloaded more pornography than other sorts of content (Business Daily, November 19th, 2009). This obviously demonstrates that students and children continue to consume large amounts of sexual information without the supervision of their parents and/or elders.
Online prostitution is being promoted through social media. Students are hooking up via friend requests on Facebook and other social media sites, and they occasionally engage in sex after meeting or continue dating. According to studies, a large number of young people are scanning their images and submitting them to dating services like Match.com and Adultfriendfinder.com in the hopes of meeting elderly rich white guys from Europe and America.
Several studies have sought to identify relationships between sexual material in the media and sexual intercourse initiation, sexual attitudes, values, and beliefs (Brown, 2002; Martino et al, 2009; Levy, 2005). The purpose of this research is to look into how Kwara State University students use social media, whether they consume and create sexual content, and how this effects their sexuality discourse, attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviour.
University students compose and represent a group of media consumers who quickly acquire and adapt to new technologies. We know little about the amount to which adolescents expose themselves to sexually explicit information on the Internet, according to Peter and Valkenburg (2006), Brown (2000), and Fisher and Barak (2001).
1.3 Objectives of Research
To determine how much sexual discourse Kwara State University students are exposed to on social media.
2. To ascertain the type and trend of sexual discourse on social media among students at Kwara State University.
To investigate Kwara State University students’ perceptions of sexually linked social media speech.
1.4 Research Questions
To what extent are students at Kwara State University exposed to sexual discourse on social media?
What is the nature and pattern of sexual discourse among Kwara State University students on social media?
How do students at Kwara State University perceive sexual content on social media?
1.5 Scope Of Research
The research would only be conducted at Kwara State University in Kwara State. The researcher will exclusively investigate the impact of social media on sexuality discourse and attitudes among Kwara State University students.
1.6 Significance Of Research
According to theory, students gain knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviour through media information and observation of media models. The primary goal of this research is to examine at how students’ exposure to and participation in the creation and dissemination of sexualized content on social media affects their sexuality discourse, attitudes, and behaviour.
The data gathered in this study may also aid in understanding adolescent sexual decisions. In Nigeria, there is widespread anxiety about the dangers of sex, unexpected pregnancies, prostitution, STDs/HIV, and AIDS. Studies in Nigeria show alarming patterns of increased early sexual debuts and risk sexual behaviours among students (Youth Fact Book, 2010; Njue et al, 2011; Ochieng, Kakai, & Abok, 2010).
As the government and the world struggle to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic, it is critical to try to understand how exposure to various types of media impacts and contributes to the sexual decisions made by youth. The study is noteworthy in that it will shed light on the impact of social media on the sexual patterns, attitudes, and behaviour of university students. This is significant for parents, educators, policymakers, and health care providers, as well as for the establishment of advocacy, policy, and legislative initiatives to address student exposure to sexual content in social media and new media.
1.7 Limitations Of The Study
The majority of the children in the schools have unpredictable or unpleasant schedules. This made conducting interviews extremely difficult.
Financial constraints-During the course of the research, the researcher had to spend a significant amount of money on printing the research work, photocopying key research materials, allowances for research assistants, and travel and transportation costs to the site to gather information.
Time constraint- Time is critical in a research project like this. Every area of this research was assigned a time frame for completion. However, the researcher had to balance the activity with other academic responsibilities. Again, the fact that the research period is too short to allow for appropriate data gathering on the issue may have an impact on the work’s outcome.
1.8 Research Organisation
The study is broken into five (5) chapters. The first chapter is concerned with the general introduction, which is divided into the following sections: Background to the subject, The problem statement, the objectives of the study, the significance of the study, the research questions, the scope of the study, and the organisation of the study are all included. The second chapter includes a review of several linked literatures on the issue under inquiry.
The third chapter discusses the various ways for gathering data for the study project. These methods include the use of questionnaires, interviews, and observation, among others. The fourth chapter presents the study’s findings, discussions, and data analysis.
Finally, the fifth chapter offers findings and suggestions.
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