SEXUAL AND SEXUALITY DISCOURSE AMONG STUDENTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
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SEXUAL AND SEXUALITY DISCOURSE AMONG STUDENTS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
CHAPITER 1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
Internet, social media, laptops, MP3 players, handheld video players, cell phones, and other new media platforms all provide an almost infinite selection of information to choose from.
In this mediated society, sexual conversation and displays are more frequent and explicit. Researchers have discovered, through content analysis, that over the past ten years, sexual content on the internet and social media, ranging from flirting to sexual intercourse, has increased significantly (Brown, 2000; Fisher & Barak, 2001; Ybarra & Mitchell, 2005; Escobar-Chaves et al, 2005; Brown, Keller & Stern, 2009; Kaiser Family Foundation, 2010; Brown, Keller & Stern, 2009).
Young people can use social media to generate and/or share sexually explicit text, images, and videos (Collins et al., 2011; Chika & Ojih, 2013; Brown, Keller & Stern, 2009; Ellison et al., 2007; Peluchette & Karl, 2010; Braun-Courville & Rojas, 2000).
Social media, mobile devices, and instant messaging play significant roles in students’ daily life as they immerse themselves in modern media (Collins et al., 2010; Pempek et al., 2009).
They post songs and poems about their sexual desires and experiences on blogs, share nude or semi-naked pictures and videos of themselves on social media and via mobile phones (sexting), and discuss sexual practises and experiences on SM and blogs (Brown, Keller, and Stern, 2009).
They also use their online social media profiles to display information about their sexuality, indicating their sexual orientation and sexual interests. Students who regularly consume sexually explicit content on social media either develop or reinforce views favouring sexual permissiveness. 2000 Braun-Courville & Rojas).
According to Kelleher & Sweetser (2012), casual sexual behaviour is more readily accepted when it occurs online. According to Kelleher & Sweetser (2012),
the development of content is likely to lay the groundwork for teenagers’ views towards sex and their future sexual behaviours throughout their lives.
In this study, I’ll try to ascertain how student sexuality discourse, attitudes, and behaviour are affected by mediated sex and sexual portrayals on social media.
The majority of young people’s risky sexual behaviours start at a young age, according to a number of studies done in Nigeria (Maticka-Tyndale et al., 2005; Oindo, 2002; Youth Fact Book; Kabiru & Orpinas; Adam and Mutungi; Njue et al; 2011;
Mathenge; Akwara et al; 2003; CBS; 2004). Njue et al. (2011) claim that young people in Nigeria frequently engage in unprotected, pressured, transactional intercourse with numerous partners at once. By the time they turn 20 years old, more than 50% of Nigerian youngsters are sexually active, according to Ochieng, Kakai, and Abok (2010).
According to Youth Fact Book (2010), 11% of young women and 22% of young males aged 15 to 24 had their first sexual encounter before turning 15 years old. 58% of young males and 47% of young women who were 18 had experienced their first sexual encounter.
According to a research done in the western Nigerian town of Kisumu, 73 percent of young people had sexual experience, 74 percent of them were sexually active, and 84 percent had frequent intercourse with one partner or more (Oindo, 2002).
According to Mathenge (2008), 36% of girls in elite schools in Kwara State, Nigeria, aged 14 to 25, who had never had a sexual experience before, did so by the time they were 15 years old, and 75% did not utilise any form of protection.
Risky sexual behaviours put students at risk for developing STIs, such as HIV/AIDS, as well as psychological and emotional issues. According to studies, students account for over half of all new HIV infections (about 7,000 per day) (WHO, 2006).
The majority of new HIV cases in Nigeria have been among young people (Central Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Health, 2004). According to the Nigerian government in 2005, young people aged 15 to 24 accounted for 75% of new HIV infections.
Every year, among Nigerian youth between the ages of 13 and 24, STIs/AIDS, unintended pregnancies, abortions, and diagnoses of these conditions are reported. Oindo (2002, Oindo).
Researchers, policymakers, parents, and educators are all very interested in finding ways to deal with young people who engage in dangerous sexual behaviours.
The vast advocacy, policy, and legal initiatives, particularly in developing nations, that address students’ important issues like health, sexuality, education, and unemployment, to name a few, are evidence of this.
The policies in Nigeria’s youth framework deal with the same problems. Collins et al. (2011) assert that because these sexual risk behaviours have such significant social, economic, and public health repercussions, significant research efforts have been made to understand what led students to engage in them.
Why do students start having relationships with other people sexually at such a young age is an important question. What circumstances lead to sexual initiation and what circumstances prevent it? (2004) Collins et al.
Research has identified and demonstrated how media has the potential to influence the 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 significantly influenced by the media (Debra, Braun Courville, & Rojas, 2009). In addition to peers, schools, and parents, adolescents and students frequently cite the media as a key source of sexual information (Borzekowski & Rickert, 2001; Strouse, Buerkel-Rothfuss & Long, 1995; Greeson & Williams, 1986; Brown, Keller & Stern, 2009).
Human beliefs, perceptions, courses of action, and behaviours are assumed to be influenced by the media. From the era of radio and television to the current era of cybernetics, media has demonstrated a significant ability to affect the recipients of media messages. Students can learn about sexual behaviours through media.
The definition of sexuality among young people has been influenced either negatively or positively by television, newspapers, books, radio, magazines, films, and the internet.
Teenagers are exposed to sexual content in the media during a phase of development when gender roles, sexual attitudes, and sexual behaviours are developing, claim Gruber and Grube (2000).
In order to shape sexual attitudes, values, and practises, the entertainment industry provides a variety of messages about love, relationships, and sexual wants (Tom et al., 2010; Barber, 2011). Youth receive fashion, popular culture, language, sexuality, and lifestyle concepts from the media.
This indicates that the media is a crucial informational resource for students as they create their own sexual identities and behavioural patterns. Students form their own perspectives and talents by using the experiences and knowledge gained from media presentations (Bale, 2011).
Teenagers’ primary information source can occasionally be the media, particularly when parents and schools are unwilling to talk about sexual issues. In many Nigerian civilizations, sexuality-related concerns are cloaked in taboos and urban legends.
As a result, students turn to the media and their friends, who can provide inaccurate or unsuitable information (Toroitich-Ruto, 1997). Youth Fact Book (2010) states that 24% of the knowledge that young people learn about sexuality comes from the media.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Sexual content on social media is becoming more explicit every day (Huston, Wartella, & Donnerstein, 1998; Kunkel et al., 2007; Stern, 2007; Strasburger, 2010).
Social media, which provides anonymity and easy access to sexual content, is evolving into a good, practical, and alluring tool for students to discuss sex and sexuality without embarrassment.
Students and teenagers are inundated with verbal and visual sexual scripts about dating, intimacy, relationships, and sex on these social media sites. The majority of scholars concur that traditional media is less sexually explicit than new media.
In addition to speeding up communication, new media has changed students from passive consumers of sexual content to active producers of sexual content (Chika & Ojih, 2013; Braun-Courville & Rojas, 2000).
According to Brown, Keller, and Stern (2009), young people are sexting and publishing nude or semi-naked images of themselves on social media and using mobile devices.
When adolescents and students view and consume sexually suggestive content on social media, these individuals may develop or reinforce views that are sexually permissive.
In Nigeria, there are more and more instances of internet pornography addiction, particularly among students. Social media platforms like Facebook are among the most addictive websites.
According to a study by Plan International and the Cradle, 30.62% of the youngsters surveyed have come across sexually explicit content on Facebook at least once.
Pornography was downloaded by youngsters and students more frequently than other sorts of information in Kwara State in 2004 (Business Daily, November 19, 2009).
This demonstrates unequivocally that students and kids continue to consume large amounts of sexual information without parental or other adult supervision.
Online prostitution is being promoted on social media. Students frequently engage in sex after meeting or continue dating after exchanging friend requests on Facebook and other social media sites.
According to studies, a large number of young people upload their images to dating services like Match.com and Adultfriendfinder.com in an effort to attract senior rich white guys from Europe and America.
Studies (Brown, 2002; Martino et al., 2009; Levy, 2005) have attempted to identify relationships between sexual content portrayed in the media and the beginning of sexual activity, sexual attitudes, values, and beliefs.
This study aims to investigate how often Kwara State University students use social media, whether they consume and produce sexual content, and how much this affects their attitudes, values, beliefs, and behaviour towards sexuality.
Students at universities make up and represent a group of media consumers who quickly accept and modify new technologies. Brown (2000), Fisher & Barak (2001), and Peter & Valkenburg (2006) all agree that little is known about how much sexually explicit content young people are exposed to online.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
to determine how much sexual content students at Kwara State University are exposed to online.
2. To determine the type and trend of sexual dialogue among students at Kwara State University on social media.
to investigate how Kwara State University students feel about the discussion of sexually related topics on social media.
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
How much sexual content is available to Kwara State University students on social media?
What type and pattern of sexual conversation do students at Kwara State University engage in on social media?
How do students at Kwara State University interpret sexually explicit information on social media?
1.5 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
Only Kwara State University in Kwara State will conduct the study. The researcher will exclusively focus on determining how social media has an impact on students at Kwara State University’s sexuality discourse and behaviour.
1.6SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
According to theory, students pick up knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behaviour by absorbing media-presented information and imitating media models.
This study’s primary goal is to examine the relationship between students’ regular use of social media and sexuality discourse, attitudes, and behaviour by examining their exposure to and involvement in the production and dissemination of sexualized content on these platforms.
The knowledge gained from this study may aid in understanding adolescent sexual decisions. In Nigeria, risky sexual behaviour, unintended pregnancies, prostitution, STDs/HIV, and AIDS are all major concerns.
According to studies conducted in Nigeria (Youth Fact Book, 2010; Njue et al, 2011; Ochieng, Kakai & Abok, 2010), students are engaging in risky sexual behaviours and more frequently having their first sexual experience at a young age.
As the nation and the entire world struggle to combat the HIV/AIDS pandemic, it is crucial to attempt and understand how youths’ exposure to various forms of media impacts and contributes to their sexual decisions.
The study is particularly important since it will put into context how social media affects the sexual habits, attitudes, and behaviour of university students.
The creation of advocacy, policy, and legal activities focused at addressing student exposure to sexual content in social media and new media is crucial for parents, educators, policymakers, and health care providers.
1.7 LIMITATIONS
The majority of school kids have unpredictable or undesirable schedules. Interviews were exceedingly challenging to conduct as a result of this.
Financial limitations: The researcher had to spend a lot of money during the study process on the printing of the research work, duplicating pertinent research resources, paying research assistants’ salaries, and travelling and transportation costs to the site to gather information.
Time restrictions: Time is crucial in a research project like this. A deadline for each portion of this research’s presentation was established.
The researcher had to combine the activity with additional intellectual tasks, though. Again, this could have an impact on the work’s outcome because the research period was too short to provide appropriate data collecting on the topic.
1.8 ORGANIZATION OF RESERACH
There are five (5) chapters in the research paper. The overall introduction is covered in Chapter 1 under the following headings:
Background to the subject, Problem statement, study objectives, significance of the study, research questions, study scope, and study organisation. The review of numerous related works on the important topic under research is covered in chapter two.
The numerous techniques for gathering data for the research project are covered in chapter three. These techniques include the use of surveys, interviews, observation, etc.
The findings, comments, and analysis of the data acquired for the study are presented in chapter four.
The fifth chapter offers findings and suggestions towards the end.
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