SOCIAL MEDIA SEXUAL AND SEXUALITY DISCUSSION AMONG STUDENTS
TABLE OF MATERIALS
ABSTRACT
CHAPTER ONE: ORIENTATION AND BACKGROUND
1.1 BEGINNING
1.2 THE STUDY’S BACKGROUND
1.3 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
1.4 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
5 OBJECTIVES OF RESEARCH 1.6 THE SCOPE OF THE STUDY
1.7 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY
ASSUMPTIONS (1.8)
2.3 ADOLESCENT AND STUDENT SEXUALITY PERSPECTIVES,
SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT AND THE CREATING OF A SEXUAL IDENTITY
2.3.1 ASPECTS OF PSYCHOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
2.3.2 ASPECTS OF BIOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT
2.3.3 ETHICAL AND MORAL ASPECTS OF DEVELOPMENT
2.3.4 ASPECTS OF SOCIAL AND CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
2.4 SEXUALITY DISCOURSE, YOUTH ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS
2.5 THE MEDIA AS A POWERFUL AGENT OF ADOLESCENTS AND STUDENTS
SOCIALIZATION OF SEXUALITY
2.5.1 SEXUALIZED MEDIA REPRESENTATIONS OF STUDENT KNOWLEDGE, ATTITUDES, AND BEHAVIOR
2.5.2 LINKS BETWEEN ‘NEW MEDIA’ SEXUAL CONTENT CONSUMPTION AND YOUNG PEOPLE
SEXUAL ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS OF PEOPLE
2.6 SOCIAL MEDIA USE PREVALENCE AND TRENDS
AMONG THE CHILDREN AND STUDENTS
2.6.1 YOUTH IN NIGERIA AND SOCIAL MEDIA
2.6.2 ONLINE STUDENT AND SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITIES
2.6.3 SOCIAL MEDIA MEDIATION AND PORTRAYALS OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR
2.7 THEORY PERSPECTIVES ON SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES
IMPACT ON STUDENT ATTITUDE AND BEHAVIOR
2.7.1 THEORY OF SOCIAL LEARNING
2.7.2 THEORY OF SCRIPTS
RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY IN CHAPTER THREE
3.0 BEGINNING
3.1 DESIGN OF RESEARCH
3.3 THE RESEARCH POPULATION
SAMPLING AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUES
3.4.1 METHOD AND PROCEDURE FOR SAMPLING
3.4.2 DATA COLLECTION PROCEDURES AND TOOLS FOR DATA COLLECTION
3.4.3 TOOLS FOR DATA COLLECTION
QUESTIONNAIRE 3.4.3.1
3.4.3.2 FOCUS GROUP DEBATS
3.4.2 VARIABLES THAT ARE INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT
3.4.4 ETHICAL QUESTIONS
3.4.5 DATA ANALYSIS AND RESULTS PRESENTATION
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA ANALYSIS, INTERPRETATIONS, AND APPLICATIONS
DISCUSSIONS
4.0 INVESTIGATION
4.1 THE EQUIPMENT (QUESTIONNAIRE)
4.2 QUESTIONNAIRE ADMINISTRATION
4.3 RESPONDENTS’ BACKGROUND CHARACTERISTIC
4.4 SOCIAL MEDIA EXPERIENCE OF PARTICIPANTS
4.4.1 POPULARITY AND TRENDS IN SOCIAL MEDIA USE
4.4.4 RESPONDENTS’ SOCIALIZATION ON SOCIAL MEDIA
4.5.1 DISCUSSION OF PEERS AND SEXUALITY
4.5.2 STATUS CHANGES
4.5.3 IMAGE AND PROFILE INFORMATION DISPLAYED ON SOCIAL MEDIA
4.5.5 DISCUSSION OF SEXUAL MATTER ON OTHERS’ AND ONE’S SOCIAL NETWORK PROFILE
4.5.6 SOCIAL MEDIA EXPOSURE TO SEXUALLY EXPLICIT MATERIALS
EXPOSURE TO “SOFT” SEXUAL MATERIALS
EXPOSURE TO ‘HARDY’ SEXUAL MATERIALS
4.5.7 SOCIAL NETWORK PROFILE POSTING AND SOLICITATION OF SEXUALIZED CONTENT
4.7 ANALYSIS OF SPECIFIC STUDY OBJECTIVES
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS IN CHAPTER FIVE
IN THE STUDY
5.1 SYNOPSIS
RECOMMENDATIONS 5.2
5.3 CLARIFICATIONS
QUESTIONNAIRE
CHAPTERONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 THE STUDY’S BACKGROUND
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 courting to sexual intercourse has expanded dramatically on the internet and social media over the previous decade (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). Youth can encounter sexual text, photographs, and videos on social media, as well as create and/or upload such things themselves (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 newer media, with social media, cell phones, and instant messaging playing significant parts in their daily lives (Collins et al, 2010; Pempek et al, 2009).
They use their online social media profiles to display information about their sexuality, such as 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 through mobile phones (sexting); and they discuss sexual practices 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 practices are connected with a higher acceptance of casual sexual conduct. According to Kelleher and Sweetser (2012), content production is likely to build the foundation of teenagers’ attitudes regarding sex and subsequent sexual actions throughout their lives. My research will seek to assess the impact of social media mediated sex and sexual depictions on student sexuality discourse, attitudes, and behavior.
Several research conducted in Nigeria have showed that the majority of juvenile dangerous sexual activities occur at a young age (Maticka-Tyndale et al., 2005, Oindo, 2002, Youth 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 percent of young women and 22 percent 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 had their first sexual encounter.
According to a study conducted in Kisumu, western Nigeria, 73 percent of the young were sexually experienced, 74.4 percent were sexually active, 84 percent engaged in frequent sexual encounters, and 79.7 percent maintained 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 habits 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 each day) (WHO, 2006). Youth in Nigeria have the largest number of new HIV cases (Central Bureau of Statistics, Ministry of Health, 2004).
In 2005, youngsters aged 15-24 years accounted for 75% of new HIV infections (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 (Oindo 2002).
Researchers, policymakers, parents, and educators have all expressed an interest in addressing dangerous sexual practices 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 behaviors 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 found and proved 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).
The media has a significant impact on youth socialization (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 behaviors. 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 practices 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 behaviors are being formed, according to (Gruber & Grube, 2000). The entertainment media conveys a variety of messages about falling in love, relationships, and sexual wants, shaping sexual attitudes, values, and practices (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 behavior. 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 erroneous and/or improper information (Toroitich-Ruto, 1997). According to Kids Fact Book (2010), media accounts for 24 percent of sexuality information gained by youth.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Every day, sexual content on social media becomes more graphic (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 converted students from passive consumers of sexual content to active makers of sexual knowledge (Chika & Ojih, 2013; Braun-Courville & Rojas, 2000). On social media and through mobile phones (sexting), young people are posting and sharing naked or semi-naked images of themselves (Brown, Keller & Stern, 2009). 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 percent of the children interviewed have encountered sexually suggestive material on Facebook at least once.
In 2004, several networks in Kwara state reported that youngsters and students downloaded more pornography than other types 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 behavior.
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 Goals 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 Issues
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 THE STUDY’S OBJECTIVE
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 THE STUDY’S SIGNIFICANCE
According to theory, students gain knowledge, attitudes, skills, and behavior 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 behavior.
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. In Nigeria, studies have revealed troubling trends of increased early sexual debut and risk sexual practices 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 behavior 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 The Study’s Limitations
The majority of the children in the schools have unpredictable or unfavorable 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 Organization
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, Problem statement, objectives of the study, significance of the study, research questions, scope of the investigation, and study organization 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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SOCIAL MEDIA SEXUAL AND SEXUALITY DISCUSSION AMONG STUDENTS